Minister of Environment: Iraq is the fifth most affected country by climate change

 
Baghdad-INA

The Minister of Environment, Jassem Al-Falahi, summarized on Saturday, the importance of Iraq’s winning of membership in the Executive Office of Arab Ministers Responsible for Environmental Affairs, while confirming the great support of President of the Republic, Barham Salih, and the prime minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, to confront environmental challenges.
 
"The meeting of the Council of the Executive Office of Arab Ministers Responsible for Environmental Affairs is a very important meeting, especially at this time, as it precedes the next climate change conference in Glasgow on November 1^st, as it is one of the important meetings held in the United Kingdom to set realistic decisions for implementing Paris Agreement on climate change and to approve global supply mechanisms to support the efforts of developing and least developed countries to implement the standards of the decisions of the Paris Agreement”, Al-Falahi told The Iraqi News Agency(INA). 
 
He pointed out that "Iraq's membership is a great diplomatic achievement and serves the country, especially since Iraq faces serious challenges in the environmental fields, as it is the fifth most affected country in the world by the issue of climate change like pollution, desertification, drought, dust storms and decreasing water revenues, as all these factors have a significant impact on food and water security and, as a result, on national security”.
 
 
He also stressed that "Iraq's membership will be a supporting factor in our obtaining Arab support for the serious challenges that we face, and as a result, the adoption of Arab policies supportive of Iraq to establish projects to meet these challenges, especially in the issue of confronting dust and sand storms, desertification and land degradation, and benefiting from expertise to address pollution of all kinds, especially water and air pollution." 
 
Al-Falahi noted that "Iraq's success in gaining its membership in the Executive Office after many years, indicates the existence of Arab recognition of the important role that the country plays in diplomatic forums and the efforts we have made in order to provide a clear message in the face of serious challenges and the great support that the  Ministry of Environment received by Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi,  and the President of the Republic, Barham Salih, in order to implement a realistic policy capable of facing all  the challenges”.
 
 
"One of the most important achievements has been the endorsement of Iraq's contribution to the Paris Agreement and the approving of the Council of Ministers of the national contribution to which we will participate in the Conference on Climate Change in Glasgow, as well as the approval by the Council of Ministers in principle of the President of the Republic's Initiative for the Recovery of the Mesopotamia” Al-Falahi added.