Iraq Must Follow “Greener Growth Model”: World Bank

The Washington-based institution said in a new report given to the government in Baghdad that Iraq needs to spend $233 billion by 2040 to get "on a green growth path."

 A report stated, "the most desert country, after decades of war and turmoil, is also suffering worsening climate change shocks like drought and water scarcity due to rising temperatures."

 Iraq's infrastructure is falling apart, and the country's economy is still heavily based on oil, which brings in 90% of government revenue.

"Iraq faces the challenge of moving away from total oil dependence towards a more diversified, private sector-led economy that creates jobs and builds human capital while building resilience to climate change," said Ferid Belhaj, World Bank regional vice president for the Middle East and North Africa.

Belhaj told AFP, "Iraq has enough financial resources to manage challenges like water shortages, desertification, and air pollution."

Now, the question which raised before The World Bank is how to ensure that these financial resources are made available for new policies to tackle environment challenges and how to do it in an efficient way.

Among the proposed reforms, the World Bank recommended that Iraq upgrade dams and irrigation systems and "decarbonize industry, agriculture, and the waste sectors."

"The UN ranks Iraq as one of the world’s five countries most exposed to the impacts of climate change, with water shortages, desertification, and rising temperatures predicted to devastate its agricultural sector in particular," the report stated.

By Sumita Pawar