Page 11 - IRANRptDec21

2.6 Iran ‘will ratify Paris agreement if sanctions against it are lifted’
Iran will ratify the landmark Paris agreement on climate change only if sanctions against it are lifted, a senior official told the BBC on November 11.
The country is the world's eighth largest emitter of CO2, yet it is one of the few countries not to ratify the Paris pact. Neighbour Turkey became the last G20 country to ratify the agreement in October.
The official, Ali Salajegheh, reportedly said that sanctions were impeding Iran in areas like renewable energy. The Iranians have seen an collapse in overseas investment in their renewable energy sector in the face of US sanctions.
Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi decided not to attend the ongoing UN climate change summit, COP26, in Glasgow, but the country sent a team to plead for relief from the economic blockade caused by Washington’s sanctions.
"Iran has been impacted by climate change like every other place in the world," Salajegheh was quoted as saying. "This has reduced our rainfall per annum and also the inflow of water into our rivers has reduced by 40% [and] this has affected our agriculture and affected our industrial and drinking water."
On the issue of the Paris climate agreement, Salajegheh was cited as saying the pact had to be a "two-way street."
"When you have oppressive sanctions in force it does not allow for any kind of imports even medicine which is a human fundamental right," he said.
"If the sanctions are removed, then we have a commitment towards the international community, it is at that time that they can transfer modern technology and finance to us especially in the area of renewable energy so we can modernise our deteriorating infrastructure," he told BBC News.
Iran has the second largest gas reserves and fourth largest oil reserves in the world.
11 IRAN Country Report December 2021 www.intellinews.com