ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq has a critical role to play in global efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions and limit rising temperatures, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) representative in the country said earlier this week, stressing that Baghdad's commitment to cutting emissions by 22 percent could also help it secure international financing and technology to tackle the growing impacts of climate change.
"The NDCs are absolutely critical because from a global perspective, we're seeing the world racing very, very quickly to unsustainable temperature rises," Titon Mitra, UNDP Resident Representative for Iraq, told Rudaw in a video statement on Wednesday, referring to nationally determined contributions (NDCs), the climate action plans countries submit under the Paris Agreement.
Mitra warned that global temperatures could rise by another three degrees Celsius by the end of the century without sufficient action, stressing the need for countries, including Iraq, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"Iraq has to play a very critical role in that,” he said, adding that Iraq has made a commitment to reduce its emissions to up to 22 percent by 2035.
Iraq is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, facing worsening droughts, desertification, water shortages and increasingly severe dust storms.
"We see the rapid spread of deserts, desertification. We see dust storms increasing. We see drought," Mitra said, warning that temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius could have serious consequences for the country's economy, employment and livelihoods.
Mitra noted that Iraq's commitment to reducing emissions by 22 percent is conditional on receiving international assistance, presenting an opportunity for Baghdad to secure funding, technology and technical expertise.
"Through that international assistance, Iraq can access finance, it can access technology, it can access technical support. So it'll get the support that it needs to achieve those targets," he said.
Iraq's updated NDC sets targets across several sectors, including oil and gas, electricity, transport, industry, agriculture and waste management, with an estimated $72.2 billion required to finance emissions reductions and climate adaptation measures, according to UNDP.
Mitra said the estimated cost was equivalent to roughly one year of Iraq's oil revenues when the country exports at full capacity.
He stressed that the next challenge was turning the commitments into practical measures, including establishing monitoring systems, strengthening institutional capacity, improving coordination and securing financing.
