Iraq’s environment minister warns of climate change threat

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq needs to wake up to the threat that climate change poses, and diversify its sources of income, as the country faces unprecedented challenges due to weather fluctuations, Iraq’s environment minister said on Tuesday, as the tenth serious heavy dust storm since the start of the year hit the country.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Jassim al-Falahi, Iraq’s minister of environment, cited a report from the US National Intelligence Council which predicted the increasing challenges caused by a heating climate into the 2040s, claiming that Iraq needs to urgently respond to threat of climate change as it has a direct influence on the country’s economy.
 
“This [the impact of climate change] requires a true awakening, which is inclusive to all aspects of Iraq, to increase the flexibility of the Iraqi community towards the topic of climate change,” Falahi said, adding that the country needs to diversify its sources of income.

The report from the council, published in October, listed Iraq as one of 11 countries highly susceptible to the threat of climate change, predicting a serious and direct impact on the country’s security and economy.

“More than 20 countries rely on fossil fuels for greater than 50 percent of total export revenues… Most already face major governance and instability challenges, with Algeria, Chad, Iraq, and Nigeria most at risk from falling fossil fuel prices because they have higher break-even prices,” the report read.

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The minister also touched on the country’s water insecurity, stating that there is increasing pressure on Iraq’s water sources due to the major decline in water revenue and lack of rain, which has led to significant land degradation and desertification.

The report suggested that Iraq was one of the seven countries most vulnerable to water contamination due to “frequent and intense cyclones.”

Thousands of people were hospitalized due to breathing difficulties across Iraq on Monday, as massive dust storms clouded several provinces in the country. On Tuesday evening, Iran's ministry of foreign affairs announced that a call had been held earlier that day between the foreign ministers of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Kuwait to discuss the region's dust situation.

Anbar’s local government said earlier this month that it would be administering measures to eradicate desertification by establishing agricultural oases - “green belts” - to tackle dust storms, according to the media advisor to the Governor of Anbar, Basem al-Anbari.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi also issued a statement in early May stressing the need to take urgent measures to reduce the impact of climate change in the country, expressing his government’s support for projects and programmes tackling environmental challenges.

Iraq's environment ministry in April said that the number of dusty days in the country has increased from 243 to 272 days per year over the past two decades, warning that this is expected to reach 300 dusty days per year in 2050.

Experts believe the dust increases as a result of the worsening drought which reduces the flow of water in the Tigris and Euphrates, creating drier land more susceptible to sand storms.