Abdul Latif Rashid is expected to deliver a speech during the conference addressing the new Iraqi government's plans to combat climate change and discuss the nation's environmental problems.
Egypt, which will host the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh between November 6 and 18, will discuss warnings against backsliding on efforts to cut emissions.
"As COP27 gets underway, our planet is sending a distress signal," UN chief Antonio Guterres said in a statement, calling a recent report released by the body a "chronicle of climate chaos".
Last week, during the annual Middle East Research Institute (MERI) that took place in Erbil, US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski said that climate change had a devastating impact on Iraq and that Washington's main priorities when it comes to its policy in the country include the nation's battle against climate change.
Romanowski called upon the newly formed Iraqi government to prioritize further efforts regarding climate change in the country.
Climate change has severely affected the Kurdistan Region and Iraq's environment.
Climate breakdown poses a particular risk to Iraq, the fifth-most vulnerable country to climate breakdown, with soaring temperatures, droughts, and water shortages compounded by increasing water security, leading to instability and health issues over the coming years.
The United Nations urged member states to make sure that all decisions and measures enacted as an outcome of the summit take into account the consequences of climate change on human rights. It added that the outcomes of COP27 are extremely important, and that better climate change policymaking will be the result from this
In a demonstration of how frequently the country’s political instability takes priority, former president Barham Salih was forced to cancel his planned trip to COP26 last year, and many climate targets are tethered with the disclaimer, "provided there is stability and outside funding."
A 2010 study found that the early years of the 2003 US invasion produced around 600 million tonnes of CO2 emissions; a statistic that may appear irrelevant compared to the direct cost of war, but contributed to severe long-lasting consequences on the country’s environment, such as air and water pollution.
Middle Eastern countries contribute only around five percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet suffer disproportionately more from climate breakdown.
