TEHRAN – Due to irrational use, the planet has lost its tolerance in the past few years, so projects must proceed more carefully, and those without environmental impact assessment should not be funded, Department of Environment chief Ali Salajegheh, has said.

“Today, the industrialized nations realized that in order to become rich, they must pay attention to the environment. A country like China, which in recent years has ignored environmental standards, is raising the issue of ecological civilization at the Glasgow Summit.

Our people are strong in environmental teachings because of their rich culture, but these values must also be reflected in practice,” he explained.

Referring to the environmental standards of industries, he said that industries must be careful about their footprint in three subject areas of water, carbon, ecology.

“The water condition is not favorable and despite the poor condition, it is consumed excessively. In industry, the cost of goods should be based on the price of water consumed. The price of water also varies in different regions and different prices are considered depending on the price of water for the same product.

Today's world is moving towards zero carbon. Under a law enacted by the European Union in 2005, the operation of industrial units with non-standard carbon footprints is prohibited. In addition to the commitment to international standards, we need to pay attention to domestic standards, in addition to the implementation of incentive and punishment schemes.

The planet has lost its tolerance and does not have the capacity to survive irrational withdrawal. Ecosystem capacity assessment and resource evaluation have been considered in the agenda of the DOE. We emphasize that projects without evaluation should not be funded. The damage that these projects does to the environment is calculated and should be paid to the DOE.

One of the admirable points is that some of the industries have taken steps to reduce the negative impact on the environment. Some mines have felt responsible and have realized that if they reduce the production of pollutants, they will have a higher economic outcome and consequently there will be an increase in revenue.

With these incentive schemes, in addition to introducing environmentally friendly units, we also tried to identify polluting units and take steps to prevent emission,” he observed.

Iran selected vice president of UNEA-6

Iran was elected Vice President of the Sixth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6), during the Fifth Session of the UNEA held in Nairobi from February 28 to March 2.

The 5th UN Environment Assembly concluded today in Nairobi with 14 resolutions to strengthen actions for nature to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The Assembly is made up of the 193 UN Member States and convenes every two years to advance global environmental governance.

The world’s ministers for the environment agreed to establish an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee with the mandate to forge an international legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution.

Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UNEP, has praised Iran’s approach toward environmental protection.

Environmental measures and protection of natural resources, waste management, and other measures show Iran's environmental approach, she concluded.

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