TEHRAN –The Department of Environment (DOE) is planning to develop a program to mitigate the impacts of climate change on the country.

In line with the Seventh National Development Plan (2023 -2027) that highlights the expansion of a green economy and low-carbon industry, enhancement of adaptability to climate change, and reduction of damages, the DOE has placed the development of a mitigating program on the agenda, ISNA quoted Shina Ansari, the head of the DOE, as saying.

“On the one hand, Iran is strongly affected by climate change, and on the other hand, it is among the top ten countries emitting greenhouse gases,” Ansari noted.

The energy sector accounts for more than 86 percent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, and the largest share of carbon dioxide emissions, 32 percent, comes from the power plant sector, the official added.

The lack of comprehensive legal and executive regulations on climate change is one of the country’s main problems. Once the laws are developed, the responsibilities of the executive and supervisory bodies of the DOE will be determined in the face of the climate change impacts, Ansari further noted.

She made the remarks on the occasion of the International Day against Climate Change, commemorated on October 24.

The day highlights the significance of raising awareness of climate change threats, taking actions to address its adverse effects, as well as boosting community resilience to climate change.

Climate change is a long-term atmospheric-oceanic phenomenon on a global scale, which is affected by factors such as solar as well as human activities. 

Changes in seasonal patterns, wildfires, drought occurrence, and a global surge in diseases are just a few examples of climate change consequences.

Human-induced climate change is the biggest and most pervasive threat to the natural environment and societies that the world has ever experienced, and the poorest countries are paying the heaviest price.

MT/MG