Iraq , Britain hold an important discussion session related to climate change

Baghdad-INA
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday,  the holding of a session of talks between Iraq and Britain on climate change.

A statement by the ministry, received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), stated that "on the sidelines of the meetings of the sixth session of the Iraqi-British Economic Council that are taking place in the British capital, London, the Iraqi delegation held, in the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development in the United Kingdom, important discussions related to climate change."

It added, "Ambassador Haider Al-Athari, Head of the Europe Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, headed the Iraqi delegation, with the participation of representatives of the Ministries of Finance, Environment, Migration and Displaced, while the British side was headed by Vijay Rangarajan, Director General of the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and Canada at the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development and in the presence of Ambassador Mark Bryson-Richardson, UK Ambassador to Iraq."

The statement  pointed out, "The discussions focused on how to enhance cooperation and exchange valuable ideas in the field of combating climate change and strategies for adapting to those climate changes."

Al-Athari expressed his "appreciation for the British support," noting that "one of the priorities of the Iraqi government program is to find appropriate solutions and address the phenomenon of climate and the Iraqi position was manifested through active participation in the COP26 and COP27 meetings, as well as the preparation of plans to participate in the COP28 meeting in the United Arab Emirates."

It continued, "The government's focus is on diversifying Iraq's economy to be less dependent on oil revenues, which currently constitute 90% of Iraq's budget, with a focus on investments in the gas sector and in energy and electricity generation projects, as part of efforts to achieve financial revenues and end Iraq's import of oil products at the same time, investing in associated gas that eliminates emissions and pollution resulting from that."

For his part, Rangarajan affirmed the UK's commitment to assisting Iraq in achieving its Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCs), explaining "four main priorities for his country's government in confronting climate change: facilitating access to financing for environmental initiatives, and focusing on climate adaptation for compliance target of 1.5°C, using nature-based solutions, and exploiting technology to make it available to countries around the world."

Pointing out "the importance of the upcoming COP28 meeting as an important platform for countries to assess progress and discuss the realization of NDCs."