President Salih calls for international cooperation to tackle Iraq’s climate change threats

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s President Barham Salih in a video address to the United Nations Twenty-Sixth Global Climate Summit in Glasgow on Wednesday called on the international community to work with Iraq to face the threats the country faces from climate change and other environmental challenges.

“Over the past 40 years, Iraq has been swept by wars and conflicts so it is classified as one of the most vulnerable nations in the world because of climate change,” Salih said. “Desertification affects 39% of our country and 54% of our agricultural lands are degraded because of salination caused by reducing water flow of the Tigris and Euphrates. Seven million Iraqis have already been affected by drought, climate change and the risk of displacement.”

The president’s virtual remarks come after he canceled his trip to Glasgow last minute. An informed source said the president's decision to stay in Iraq is a result of the tensions and ongoing negotiations to form a new government following last month's elections.

President Salih was scheduled to lead the Iraqi delegation, which also featured the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein, and Jassim al-Falahi, the deputy minister of health and environment and head of environment policy for the Iraqi government since 2015.

“Recently, the Iraqi government adopted the 'Mesopotamian Revitalization' project to be the framework for the development of environmental strategy. It is the project of Iraq and the region that is also threatened by the serious consequences of climate change,” Salih said.

“The project has environmental strategy including afforestation, modernizing of water administration of the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, generating clean energy, and encouraging investment through Green Climate Fund,” he added, calling for international efforts to support Iraq in implementing its national strategies.

On Tuesday, 105 global leaders from countries including Turkey agreed to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030, pledging to strengthen their shared efforts to conserve forests and other ecosystems. Iraq is not on the list.

Iraq was particularly hit by the implications of global warming this year, with a combination of lack of rain and reduced access to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers impacting communities across Iraq who rely on the two main rivers for their livelihoods - a situation which threatens the displacement of tens of thousands of Iraqis.

This summer, authorities in the Kurdistan Region warned of a water crisis, with aid agencies predicting that over 12 million people across Iraq and Syria risk losing access to water, food, and electricity as a direct consequence.

As the global summit came underway, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) called for urgent action to address water scarcity in Iraq on Monday.

The climate crisis is a child rights crisis that poses an “unprecedented threat to the development, survival, and potential of all children and young people, everywhere in Iraq”, said UNICEF, urging the federal and regional governments of Iraq to increase investment in both climate adaptation and resilience.

According to UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Risk Index, released in August, Iraq is among the top fifty countries most vulnerable to water shortages, with children and young people at a “medium-high climate risk in Iraq.”

The COP 26 conference will last for two weeks, and attendees will work towards agreeing global targets for reducing carbon emissions.

President Salih calls for international cooperation to tackle Iraq’s climate change threats

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