The head of Afghanistan’s National Environmental Protection Agency Mati-ul-Haq Khalis says comprehensive discussions were held at the recent COP29 summit on Afghanistan’s vulnerabilities to climate change.
He stated that the participation of IEA’s delegation at (COP29) marks a significant milestone, presenting a comprehensive and transparent overview of Afghanistan’s current environmental and climatic conditions to the global community.
“During COP29, concerted efforts were made to emphasize that climate change and environmental challenges transcend political considerations,” Khalis said in a statement.
He said the delegation urged the international community to treat these issues as critical social and humanitarian concerns.
This was the first time that Afghanistan was able to send a delegation to the annual UN climate summit since the Islamic Emirate’s takeover in August 2021.
According to Khalis, the delegation meanwhile used the opportunity to emphasize the need for urgent implementation of effective mechanisms to combat adverse effects of climate change and called for the acceleration of financial assistance in this regard.
The IEA delegation also advocated for enhanced engagement, coordination, and collaboration among relevant stakeholders in the fight against climate change, and advocated for Afghanistan’s active participation in regional and international forums.
Khalis said Afghanistan’s representatives also stressed the urgency of resuming suspended environmental and climate-related projects, which are crucial for addressing the country’s climate challenges.
“By introducing Afghanistan’s national focal point for the Green Climate Fund, the delegation sought to garner international support for the effective governance and management of environmental projects within the country,” Khalis stated.
Milestone for Afghanistan
Last year, the COP28 conference was held in the United Arab Emirates, but the Islamic Emirate was excluded. However, this year, Azerbaijan authorities decided to include an official delegation.
Afghanistan remains one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and also has major environmental challenges.
But some experts believe that the rationale in some quarters for engaging with Afghanistan on environmental policy is its potential for resourcing key minerals for the green transition – key to this being Afghanistan’s enormous lithium deposits.
Lithium has certain unique properties which make it very suitable as a metal for batteries needed for the green transition, an a Chinese company recently expressed interest in investing $10 billion in Afghanistan’s lithium resources in the south.
The Islamic Emirate stated that the lithium deal would generate up to 120,000 direct and many more indirect jobs in the country.
Afghanistan has long been known for its wealth of mineral resources and the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum estimates it may hold 60 million tons of copper, 2.2 billion tons of iron ore, 1.4 million tons of rare earth elements such as lanthanum, cerium and neodymium, and vast amounts of aluminum, gold, silver, zinc, mercury, and lithium.
