CLIMATE CHANGE AS A SECURITY ISSUE: ECONOMIC COSTS AND POLITICAL RESPONSES: A CASE STUDY OF PAKISTAN 2025 FLOOD

Abstract

This study reviews the 2025 flood in Pakistan as an embedded case study connecting the economic cost to the political reaction to assess climate change as a threat multiplier. The study measures direct damages and indirect economic losses across major sectors using mixed-methods and monitors human security indicators, including displacement, health risks, and service disruptions. It evaluates political action by tracing the process and coding the discourse to determine whether responses are based on securitized emergency framing or on longer-term resilience planning. Results show that losses were localized in housing, agriculture, transport, generating cascading livelihood shocks, inflationary pressures, and fiscal stress that increased governance pressures. Political responses were the highest during the emergency stage but declined as focus was diverted and they showed gaps in the continued adaptation. The paper demonstrates the importance of combining cost estimation and policy analysis to explain climate-security trade-offs and set priorities for risk reduction.