Pezeshkian calls on US and Israel to be held accountable for environmental damage to Iran at Antalya summit
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called at the COP31 summit in Antalya, Türkiye, for the United States and Israel to be held accountable for environmental damage caused to Iran during the war.
Gurban Gurbanzadeh3 min read
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called on the United States and Israel to be held accountable for the environmental damage inflicted on Iran during the war. He made the statement on Wednesday at the leaders' summit of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye.
According to Pezeshkian, the international community needs to reconsider approaches to shared responsibility for the state of the environment, climate justice and the continuity of ties between the world and environmental security. He said that wars affecting land, water, air and natural resources lead to consequences that may persist for several generations.
Environmental damage from strikes
Speaking about recent strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran, the president said they had caused significant human and economic losses, as well as serious damage to the environment. According to their estimates, strikes on fuel facilities in Asaluyeh released into the atmosphere about 500,000 tonnes of pollutants. Strikes on oil depots in the Tehran area led to the release of approximately one million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Pezeshkian said that environmental consequences of military operations contradict global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to him, fuel consumption, explosions, infrastructure destruction and large-scale fires are capable of setting back years of climate protection and environmental efforts. He also mentioned strikes on protected natural areas and environmental inspectors' posts, stressing that such sites are a common heritage of humanity.
Pezeshkian called for more effective mechanisms to document environmental damage, prevent it and hold those responsible to account. He also proposed linking the climate obligations of governments in peacetime with their responsibility during armed conflicts, and strengthening mechanisms for compensating environmental losses caused by military aggression.
Renewable energy
Speaking about energy policy, the president said Iran had continued to develop renewable energy despite sanctions and restricted access to international financing and technology. Over the past two years, the installed capacity of renewable energy in the country has grown from approximately 1,250 to more than 6,150 megawatts. According to him, in the current year, electricity generation from clean sources exceeded 4.5 billion kilowatt-hours, which made it possible to prevent emissions of approximately 2.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
“The Earth belongs to no one country and no one generation. This is a trust that we must pass on to future generations intact,” said the President of Iran.
He stressed that the world is a necessary condition for the protection of the environment, and that environmental security, in turn, is a condition for a stable world. Pezeshkian also confirmed Iran's readiness for fair and accountable international cooperation.
Source: news.am
