Pakistan, June 6 -- World Environment Day has come and gone. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used the occasion to underline that climate change is no longer a distant threat but a harsh daily reality for millions of Pakistanis. They are not wrong. The problem is that Pakistan has heard this before.

One does not need to look far to understand the scale of the danger. Pakistan's climate vulnerability is visible in exhausted water channels, choking air, shrinking green belts and uncertain melt patterns in the northern glaciers. In May, parts of Sindh and Balochistan saw temperatures approaching 50degC, a level of heat that turns ordinary life into a test of survival.

The global warnings are equally grim as comi...