Dubai, SANA-Head of delegation of Syrian Arab Republic at World Climate Action Summit, Prime Minister Eng. Hussein Arnous, said that Syria has seriously committed to global efforts to address climate change and reduce its impacts.
That came during the World Climate Action Summit held in Dubai within the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28).
Arnous said that the terrorist war imposed on Syria and unilateral coercive economic measures aggravated suffering from the effects of climate change.
He said “The war has had multiple impacts on the Syrian environment, including a significant increase in air pollution rates as a result of terrorist acts, crude oil refining in areas under US occupation in northeastern Syria, leakage of oil into the surrounding environment, contamination of the soil and part of the surface and underground waters, and the burning of large areas of forests,”.
The Prime Minister stressed that providing financing is the cornerstone of climate action, as mitigation, adaptation, reducing loss and damage, and climate technology all require adequate financing.
He denounced that the actions of the Israeli occupier in the occupied Syrian Golan, such as uprooting trees and burying hazardous waste, cause the deterioration of the environment in this region and deprive Syrian citizens of their access to water, in a clear violation of the international laws.
“Despite the difficulties that Syria is going through, we have continued the work and taking measures to protect the environment and the fight against climate change,” he said.
Arnous underlined that what increases the severity of these harmful effects is the unilateral coercive economic measures imposed on the Syrian people in terms of the shortage of energy carriers, in away some people resort to cutting down trees for the purpose of heating, and stopping the implementation of a large number of internationally funded projects aimed at protecting the environment and confronting climate change.
Despite all of the above, the Syrian Arab Republic has continued to work and adhere to measures to protect the environment and confront climate change, and to integrate the environmental dimension into development and reconstruction plans, and has committed and continues to adhere to the international agreements it has signed in the field of environment and climate change , he concluded.