Iraq is currently working on a National Green Strategy to assess and implement measures to mitigate the impact of climate change and support net zero transition, Ali Allawi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance said.

“A green paper would set out the environmental strategy that would look at every aspect of the economy and how it impacts the environment. The green paper is based on a list taken by the President a month ago to look at various areas that Iraq should be strategically concerned regarding its environmental strategy and policy. 

“We have started the process with a high-level cabinet committee. We hope to have the green paper approved by the cabinet as a process in the next two weeks and there should be a green strategy for the country in the next three months, which will also be adopted by the next government,” the Minister said speaking last week at the Ministerial Dialogue on Clean Energy Transitions and Economic Resilience in the Middle East and North Africa jointly organised by the International Energy Agency and the Sultanate of Oman.

The Minister said Iraq is looking to increase investments in the petrochemical sector and refineries based on the net zero concept to stabilise the country’s export revenue in the short to medium term.

He said the next 3-5 years are critical for countries like Iraq to rebase their economies to get alternate sources of revenue. The OPEC nation gets about 90 percent of its revenues from fossil fuels.

The Minister said over the last year and a half, Iraq has taken several steps to diversify the economy, which includes a recently released whitepaper that deals with economic and public administration reforms, the decision to significantly increase investments in renewables, particularly in solar power and a massive reforestation programme.

(Reporting by Sowmya Sundar; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@refinitiv.com)

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