Prime Minister Mr. Mohammed S. Al-Sudani Attendes the Iraq Climate Conference that is being Hosted by Basra Governorate

INA-  Baghdad

Prime Minister Mr. Mohammed S. Al-Sudani inaugurated the Iraq Climate Conference this morning, which is being hosted by Basra, with international, regional, and governmental participation.

At the conference's opening, His Excellency stressed that the government is moving forward with its program, which has attached great importance to addressing the effects of climate change and has developed several response strategies to mitigate the economic, environmental, and social impact of climate change.

The Prime Minister stressed the importance of the endeavors to implement the Iraqi vision for climate action, mainly focusing on clean and renewable energy projects and efforts to preserve Iraq's rights in the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

During the conference, His Excellency also launched a grand initiative to plant five million trees and palm trees in all governorates of Iraq.

The following are highlights from the remarks by the Prime Minister at the opening of the conference:
 
I announce, with the blessing of God, the opening of the Iraq Climate Conference to inaugurate a new phase to confront the severe effects of climate change on Iraq.

Climate change impact represented by high temperatures, scarcity of rain, and an increase in dust storms, with a decrease in green spaces, threatened food, health, environmental and community security.

More than seven million citizens have been affected in Iraq, their areas have suffered from drought, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced because they lost their livelihoods that rely on agriculture and hunting. The most disheartening aspect is the severe drought that harmed our beautiful marshes.

The national imperative of mitigating climate change effects dictates contributing nationally to reducing emissions and preparing national strategies for the environment, biodiversity, and combating pollution.

We are working on preparing Iraq's vision for climate action until the year 2030.

We have organized this conference to represent a promising start in environmental and climate action commensurate with the scale of our challenges.

The government sought, within its program, to prioritize confronting the effects of climate change through several projects that contribute to reducing emissions.

The projects include the construction of renewable energy stations, rehabilitating closed sanitary landfill sites, combating desertification projects, water-regulated irrigation techniques, and heavy water treatments.

We recently signed contracts for the fifth licensing round to harness associated gas and stop gas flaring to reduce carbon emissions significantly.

We are moving forward to conclude contracts for constructing renewable energy power plants to provide one-third of our electricity demand by 2030.

The Ministerial Economic Council will set a time frame for implementing biodiversity and combating pollution strategies projects and the national initiative for reducing emissions.

We ordered an expansion of the national initiative to reduce emissions to include various sectors. The package of projects to reduce traffic jams in Baghdad is one of the solutions to reduce emissions.

We announce the launch of a grand afforestation initiative, which includes planting five million trees and palm trees in all governorates of Iraq, accompanied by the launch of a national guide for urban afforestation for the first time in Iraq.

We launched the Natural Cover Development Project to combat desertification through important contracts with specialized international companies, especially in the areas where dust storms originate locally.

Basra Governorate prioritizes implementing these projects due to its critical environmental situation. Caring for Basra's environment is the criterion for the government's diligence in dealing with the issue of environmental impacts.

The Council of Ministers will hold periodic sessions to follow up on the implementation of Iraq's climate agenda and the implementation of environmental projects.

I call on friendly countries and all United Nations organizations to support us in facing the effects of climate change.

We call on all members who are signatories to international environmental agreements to strengthen international cooperation in the joint management of transboundary river basins and to preserve the rights of the riparian countries.

The unilateral water control in the upstream countries increases the vulnerability of countries challenged by the effects of climate change.

We will call for a regional conference to be held in Baghdad soon to enhance cooperation and joint action and exchange experiences and collaborate on programs with the region's countries in confronting climate change impacts.

I thank all those who contributed to organizing this conference, and special thanks to the United Nations Mission in Iraq, which participated in the preparation efforts.