Iraq lost over half of farmland to climate change: President

Iraq has lost more than half of its agricultural land as worsening climate change devastates the country's farming sector, President Nizar Amidi said Wednesday, calling for stronger international assistance to help vulnerable nations confront the escalating crisis.

"Accelerating climate change has led to the loss of more than 50% of our agricultural land and an unprecedented rise in desertification rates,” he said during the opening day of the high-level segment for heads of state and government at the COP31 U.N. climate conference in Antalya.

Amidi said successive wars and deteriorating political and economic conditions had weakened Iraq’s ability to adapt.

About 20,000 people had been forced to leave their homes after losing their livelihoods, he said, and indicated that climate change had also disrupted ecosystems and driven birds from their historic habitats in Iraq’s marshes and plains.

The international funding Iraq received during the past decade fell far short of its needs, said Amidi.

"We renew our call to activate the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage and facilitate access to green finance for vulnerable countries without barriers or bureaucracy,” he said.

Amidi reaffirmed Iraq’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and said the country had updated its national climate plan through 2035. He said Iraq had cut gas flaring during oil production by 75% and aimed to end routine flaring by 2030.

Iraq had also brought 1,430 megawatts of renewable power capacity online and was targeting 14,000 megawatts by 2030, he said.

Amidi said Iraq signed a contract for a seawater treatment project designed to supply 5 million barrels of treated water a day for drilling and injection at oil fields, replacing water drawn from rivers and underground reserves.

Iraq was preparing to establish a national fund for tree planting to combat desertification, he added.