Iraq Submits First Climate Transparency Report to United Nations

Iraq Submits First Climate Transparency Report to United Nations
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Iraq has formally submitted its first Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) on climate change to the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), marking a key step in fulfilling its commitments under the Paris Agreement. Yousef Muaid Yousef, Director of the National Center for Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment, announced the submission on Saturday, describing the BTR as one of the most important national documents required from signatory countries.

He said the report strengthens Iraq’s position in securing international climate finance and outlines the country’s future strategies for tackling the severe effects of global warming. The report was prepared in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and supported by a national team representing various ministries and institutions, including the Kurdistan Regional Government.

According to Yousef, it will provide Iraqi negotiators with evidence to justify financial support for climate adaptation and mitigation projects. In June 2024, Iraq was elected to the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage, a UN body established in 2013 to address the human and environmental costs of climate change. Yousef himself was appointed as a member of the committee during the ongoing SB62 meetings in Bonn, Germany.

Iraq remains among the five countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, according to the United Nations. The World Bank has warned that the country faces an urgent climate challenge, calling for a shift toward a greener, low-carbon development model. By 2040, Iraq will need an estimated $233 billion in investments—equivalent to 6% of its annual GDP—to meet pressing development and climate adaptation needs.

Environmental degradation is already evident. The Strategic Center for Human Rights reported earlier this year that Iraq has lost about 30% of its productive farmland over the past three decades due to rising temperatures, water scarcity, and desertification. Officials say the transparency report is not only a technical requirement but also a roadmap for mobilizing resources and international cooperation to mitigate the country’s growing climate risks.