Iraq’s NDC

The 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held in Paris in November and December 2015. Participating countries negotiated and adopted the Paris Agreement, which includes objectives to peak greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, to limit the global average temperature increase above pre-industrial levels to well below 2 C, and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 C.

The Paris Agreement, which entered into force on 4 November 2016, requires Parties to put forward their best efforts through “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs). These NDCs represent targets and actions for the post-2020 period. Iraq officially ratified the Paris Agreement in 2021, and it entered into force on 1 December 2021.

This NDC document serves as the country’s supreme policy for dealing with the problem of climate change. The NDC focuses on the following sectors, the most affected in Iraq by the climate change (i) water resources; (ii) agriculture; (iii) health; (iv) natural systems and forests; (v) coastal areas and sea level rise; (vi) sewage and waste sector; (vii) climate, recurring and slow-onset events and risks from climate change; (viii) higher education, scientific research, science and technology; (ix) energy; (x) tourism and world heritage (natural and cultural).

To help eliminate hunger and malnutrition the document focuses on increasing the resilience of the agricultural sector towards climate change. To make agriculture more productive and sustainable, the NDC proposes to reduce soil degradation and increase agricultural revenues, also to achieve economic diversification and reduce poverty level. More inclusive agricultural systems can be achieved by supporting rural women through the use of modern technologies. To increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, main interventions are (i) increase the flexibility of the water resources sector by adopting an integrated approach that faces the future increasing demand for water and reducing the potential deficit; (ii) develop water uses in line with the challenges of climate change, providing financial and technical support and introducing alternative and non-conventional sources; (iii) improve water infrastructure, the efficiency of supplies, and the preservation of water sources from pollution; (iv) increase the health sector’s resilience by providing the necessary and comprehensive support to health institutions and infrastructure; (v) protect and conserve ecosystems by increasing their resilience to adapt to the effects of climate change and adopting nature-based climate solutions to protect fragile, rare, and most vulnerable environments; (vi) develop strategies to protect the marine environment, its biodiversity, and coastal areas to reduce its erosion; (vii) increase resilience to sea-level rise and increase the sea ability to absorb carbon; (viii) preserve the marine natural environments and address the risks and threats to marine life and infrastructure; (ix) support integrated waste management, improving its recycling to produce energy from solid waste; (x) improve the quality of treated water; (xi) increase the resilience of the energy sector in the face of climate change by supporting adaptation programs and working simultaneously with mitigation axes.