TEHRAN –President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to participate in the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 29) which will take place from November 11 to 22 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

“President Pezeshkian’s participation in COP29 can foster greater synergy in managing external dust sources in neighboring countries and removing barriers to joining the Paris Agreement,” ISNA quoted Sara Nikbonyad, an official with the Department of Environment, as saying.

Climate change is an important and serious issue, but it has not been taken seriously. A large number of current problems in the country are caused by the instability of water sources and global warming.

In this situation, the presence of the president can have a positive effect on the conference, she highlighted.

Many of the country’s environmental problems originate from external sources, such as sand and dust centers in neighboring countries located south and north of Iran, Nikbonyad added.

The president’s attendance will be a credit to Iran’s presence at the conference. It will also bolster the credibility of the country’s efforts in addressing the challenges, and significantly provide an opportunity for negotiating on environmental issues, she further noted.

Climate change

The phenomenon of climate change on the planet has caused extreme weather conditions posing a real and undeniable threat to the entire civilization.

The consequences of climate change will be even more detrimental unless actions are taken now.

Climate change has already had many harmful effects on our country. Due to the climate change, the air temperature has increased. Warmer temperature increases the rate of evaporation, a good example of which is the Caspian Sea's reduced volume of water.

On the other hand, there has been a noticeable decrease in the amount of snowfall in the country and a change in the pattern of precipitation from snow to rain can be seen. But the total amount of rainfall has decreased as well.

According to World Health Organization, climate change is impacting health in a myriad of ways, including by leading to death and illness from increasingly frequent extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, storms, and floods, the disruption of food systems, increases in food-, water- and vector-borne diseases, and mental health issues.

As an example, climate change and the floods that hit the southeastern neighboring country two years ago, have jeopardized the malaria eradication program and caused the cases of malaria infection to spike from less than 1,000 to around 10,000.

Neglecting climate change and the preservation of the environment have posed serious and emerging challenges for all countries of the world.

These challenges disrupt the balance of nature, threaten the life of biological species, increase poverty, and threaten food security and human health.

Holding the International Conference on Combating Sand and Dust Storms, in line with the implementation of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 77/171, in Tehran in September 2023 with the cooperation of the United Nations, is an example of the efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran to draw the attention of the international communities to the importance of these shared challenges and the necessity to find shared solutions to cope with these challenges.

Iran submitted a draft resolution to the current session of the UNEA to take another step for collective action and develop appropriate regional and international mechanisms to deal with dust storms as one of the important hazards threatening our world and future.

The 6th United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) has approved a resolution adopted at the international summit on dealing with sand and dust storms which was held in Tehran in September 2023.

The UNEA-6 was held from February 26 to March 1 at the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. It is the world’s highest decision-making body on the environment.

MT/MG