Iraqis realising impact of climate breakdown: official ahead of COP26

BERLIN - The impact of climate change is increasingly clear in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, a top Iraqi official told Rudaw English on Tuesday ahead of the United Nations’ 26th Global Climate Summit in Scotland.
 
The summit, commonly referred to as COP26, is of critical importance, being hailed as a make or break event for the warming planet. With the UK hosting the event, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be joined by world leaders including US President Joe Biden, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Australia’s Scott Morrison. President Barham Salih will lead the Iraqi delegation attending the conference, alongside the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein, and Jassim al-Falahi, Deputy Minister of Health and Environment and head of environment policy for the Iraqi government since 2015. 

The Kurdistan Region and Iraq’s environment is severely affected by climate change. This past year saw minimal rain and, if this continues, it threatens the displacement of tens of thousands - if not hundreds of thousands - of people as villagers have no water, and spring wells in mountains dry up. 

Five days before the two-week summit begins in Glasgow this weekend, from October 31 until November 12, Falahi spoke to Rudaw English about his hopes for the conference, and the urgent need for greater environmental action and support in Iraq. Falahi has been working hard to send the world the message that Iraq will play its role in contributing to global climate mitigation - “sharing to save the planet.” 

“For several years, Iraqis didn’t understand the impact of climate change,” Falahi explains, “other challenges were bigger, and it was seen as a Western concept.”
 
“In the last three to four years, Iraqis are realising the impact of [the] climate breakdown.”
 
Earlier this week, Iraq’s water ministry suggested taking Iran to The Hague. Dysfunctional governments since 2005 have repeatedly failed to address the issue as the country was mired in war, sectarian violence, monumental mismanagement and crippling state corruption.

Iraq has been named the fifth-most vulnerable country to climate breakdown, with soaring temperatures, droughts and water shortages - compounded by the issue of water security. Falahi says he is critically aware that 90% of Iraq’s water is supplied from other nations, with the implications that has for Iraq’s agricultural sector and the increasing pressure on limited resources.
 
Almost a year ago, fisherman Hunar Mohammed Abdullah spoke to Rudaw about the impact of lack of rain and consequently depleting river levels. “It doesn’t flow at all. Even in the dry season, it’s never been this low… it’s the end of our life if we lose this water.”

In Iraq and northeast Syria (Rojava), a water crisis is “creeping into every corner of children’s lives”, a report by Save the Children warned last week, with low levels of water in the Euphrates, Tigris and Diyala rivers. It is not difficult to see the worsening consequences of increasing temperatures in Iraq, Falahi stresses, and the urgent action that must be taken to mitigate this.

Despite climate extremities becoming increasingly common and, among rising air and water pollution, desertification and environmental refugees, Falahi dreams of the restoration of Mesopatamia’s greenbelt. He hopes that the COP26 summit will see a true policy for the “most vulnerable and undefended” countries, and calls on the international community to support greater efforts to achieve a green and sustainable Iraq through increased finances to put the Paris Agreement into action, as well as the Green Climate and Adaptation Fund.
 
Falahi studied at Scotland’s Royal College of Surgeons in his youth, and he is looking forward to returning to Edinburgh this weekend.

“After the COVID-19 pandemic, this gives a crucial message that environmental health means public health. Climate change directly impacts global public health.”
 
He stresses that awareness is vital, as is the involvement of Iraq’s private businesses and industry. The country needs to move away from the oil industry, and towards a green and sustainable economy powered on wind, thermal and hydropower. This requires pushing NGOs, civil society, and businesses towards the net zero target.
 
“Of course, there are huge challenges, especially in a country with prioritising and urgent crises. But in Iraq, 30% of people live in areas dependent on agriculture, so there are huge social and political consequences if we do not take action. Temperatures are reaching fifty degrees, and there is a deficit in natural resources.”
 
The world is not on track to limiting global warming to a manageable level. On Monday, the UN weather agency announced that global emissions of greenhouse gases have reached record levels again, with the world "way off track" on climate goals, and global heating damaging the ability of the natural world to absorb emissions.
 
Middle Eastern countries contribute only around five percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet suffer disproportionately more from climate breakdown. 

“This is a humanitarian issue”, al-Falahi continues, “Huge emissions from other countries are directly impacting poorer countries.” Increased climate action is urgently required, and climate breakdown is one of the most serious challenges that Iraq is facing. 

The ultimate goal of COP26 is to achieve a global path for halving emissions over the next decade, with negotiators attempting to reach agreements for net zero emissions by 2050 among as many countries as possible. A total of 197 countries will take part in the talks alongside around 30,000 delegates, presenting Nationally Determined Contributions which set out plans to reduce emissions and address the mitigation of greenhouse gases.

Last year, Iraq ratified the Paris climate accord and set out its National Adaptation Plan Project (NAP), which committed to implementing nationally determined contributions from 2021 until 2030, leading to a 1-2% reduction of its emissions and working towards a greener and more sustainable economy.

Greater change is expected to come. This week, at the Middle East Green Initiative Forum in Riyadh, Iraq’s Finance Minister Ali Allawi set out policies to stop the burning of flaring gas by 2022, and pledged to reduce the country’s methane emissions ahead of COP26.

In a recent op-ed, Allawi called on the international community to support Iraq’s transition from fossil fuels. Falahi emphasised the need for a technological transfer of the oil industry to the environmental sector. The country is working with the UN to harness the latest technology, encourage national buy-in, and educate the worst-affected by climate change in rural areas.

Falahi is clear about the country’s ambition to take action and the importance of financial support, particularly in this field of renewable energy: “The willingness is there - but Iraq requires the means and support to see it through.” He pays tribute to Iraq's President Salih and Iraq’s prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi; both of whom are determined to mitigate the worst impact of climate change on the region.

“Our people have suffered enough already - socially, financially, economically. There has been too much bloodshed, and over five million people are internally displaced.”
 
“If we believe in humanity, Iraq must rebuild, support and rehabilitate its people.”