Why Climate Change Will Exacerbate Inequalities and Grievances in Iraq

May 9, 2022 | Dylan O’Driscoll, Shivan Fazil
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The UN Environment Programme has ranked Iraq as the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change. In recent years, it has increasingly witnessed extreme heatwaves with temperatures reaching above 50°C. The effects of these trends are clear.

Providing decent services is central to government’s legitimacy. Yet Iraq’s population faces the challenges posed by broadly inadequate services. For instance, Iraqis derive minimal electricity from the national grid. At the same time, inefficient hydrocarbon extraction has devastated the country’s environment and the health of its population through toxic emissions. The Iraqi healthcare system is already in crisis, however, and cannot cope with additional pressures.

The country’s agriculture sector is the second largest after oil, and employs roughly 20 percent of Iraq’s workforce. Desertification has reduced Iraq’s arable lands, while droughts and lack of rainfall have resulted in plummeting production.

The Iraqi government, with the support of its partners, needs to implement long term policies to improve service provision and expand economic diversification.