Baghdad, Iraq, 5 November 2022 – More than 200 Iraqis representing government, youth and civil society attend COP27, the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference hosted by the United Nations in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Climate change is a reality in Iraq and a priority for the country’s United Nations family. It has a devastating impact on the lives of all Iraqi citizens, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, and the urgency for action transcends political, ethnic, social and geographical boundaries.
The Iraqi delegation to COP 27, which will take place from 6-18 November 2022, will include representatives from governments, youth, civil society and the private sector.
“Iraq is at the forefront of the climate crisis and one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change, yet its citizens face catastrophic events such as heat waves, dust storms, flash floods, droughts, land degradation and flooding. due to rising sea levels and water scarcity,” said Resident Coordinator Ghulam Isaczai, adding, “The United Nations Iraq is committed to ensuring that its climate commitments are driven by action, coordinated solutions, and engagement at all levels. I will continue to work every day to show that I am.”
UN agency work in Iraq considers the environmental impacts of climate change, with a focus on ensuring that actions and projects are environmentally friendly and prioritize the most vulnerable communities, including women, children, youth and persons with disabilities. I’m putting
On the ground, in Kirkuk, the United Nations launched a tree-planting campaign to raise awareness about climate action and expand the ‘greenbelt’ to mitigate sandstorms. UN-Habitat Iraq has so far created about 12 hectares of public green space and he has planted more than 5,000 trees to mitigate the effects of sandstorms.
UNDP assists the Government of Iraq in formulating and ratifying climate change policy through its National Determined Contribution (NDC), which addresses both greenhouse gas mitigation and climate change adaptation with a gender and private sector focus. and continue to provide skills development. Project pilot to support NDC implementation.
FAO renews its commitment to work with relevant government agencies to continue strengthening the climate resilience of vulnerable agricultural households in rural Iraq and to continue to support local communities, including wetland buffalo producers. FAO also seeks to address water scarcity, heat and drought under projected climate change scenarios, prevent food loss and waste, and address the degradation of valuable natural resources such as soil and water through climate change. Promotes sensitive agricultural practices. Time of remote sensing data for monitoring land and water productivity.
Over the past two years, more than 1.5 million Iraqis have gained access to safely managed water services, and 500,000 have access to safely managed sanitation services. UNICEF will work with national actors to protect all children and young people by providing essential services, to prepare them by building capacity, and to prioritize children and young people in climate finance and resources. We urge you to take immediate action to
UNWomen will use COP 27 to highlight how gender equality can strengthen climate action and mitigate impacts, and highlight women’s voices and leadership as key drivers of climate change success. It leverages a strengthened global commitment to increase and ensure a more gender-equal approach towards climate, environmental and disaster risk reduction. In addition, the UNFPA Iraq Office is working with the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Planning to conduct research on the impacts of climate change on women/girls and vulnerable groups in Iraq.
WFP has assisted smallholder farmers with adaptation measures, and the Ministry of Water Resources has supported pilot projects for modern irrigation systems. WFP also funds climate change mitigation and adaptation activities for afforestation, mangrove reforestation and wetland conservation. WFP is also working with governments to develop early warning systems to take action before extreme weather affects vulnerable families, enabling them to take preventative measures.
At COP 27, IOM will use extensive research to highlight water scarcity in Iraq that is destroying agricultural livelihoods and driving internal migration from rural to urban areas. These areas are already struggling to provide basic services to their residents and are areas where social tensions continue to rise. This increased mobility will disproportionately affect persons with disabilities who already face social exclusion, difficulty in finding employment and higher barriers to access to services. Informal settlements (where climate change migrants end up) and poor roads are major barriers to their freedom of movement, independence and quality of life.
Let’s work together to build a sustainable Iraq and end the environmental crisis!
Ghulam Mohammad Isaczai, Deputy Special Representative, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq
Dr. Salah Elhaj Hassan, FAO Representative to Iraq
Jorge Gigauri, IOM Chief Representative for Iraq
Zena Ali Ahmad UNDP Iraq Representative
Dr. Rita Colombia UNFPA Representative to Iraq
UN-HABITAT Iraq Representative Wael Ashhab
Seema Sengupta, UNICEF Iraq Director
Dina Zorba, UNWomen’s Iraq and Yemen Representative
Ali Raza Qureshi, WFP Iraq Representative to the United Nations
Media Contact:
RCO: Zainab Salih Zainab.salih@un.org +964 790 110 5664
UNDP: Mohammed Al-Bahbahanee mohammed.al-bahbahanee@undp.org +9647704399222
UNICEF: Miguel Mateos Munoz mmateosmunoz@unicef.org +964 7827820238
UN-HABITAT: Mahwish Khan mahwish.khan@un.org
UNWOMEN: Musab Othman musab.othman@unwomen.org +962 790 317218
UNFPA: Hey Katranji katranji@unfpa.org +964 780 91 71 035
WFP: Saif Altatooz, saif.altatooz@wfp.org +964 780 915 6198
IOM Iraq Public Information Unit iraqpublicinfo@iom.int
FAO: Zeineb Marzouk Zeineb.Marzouk@fao.org, +96407719966053
