KABUL (SW) – The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid has said that Afghanistan is among the 10 countries that are most vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters.
“Droughts are intensifying, destroying livelihoods and increasing hunger,” OCHA’s statement said. “Temperatures are rising faster than the global average. With the destruction of the environment, agriculture and livelihood in Afghanistan are threatened. Therefore, Afghan citizens need urgent support to deal with the effects of climate change,” it added.
At the same time, officials in the National Environmental Protection Agency call environmental problems a global phenomenon and say that Afghanistan has no role in climate change, but it is severely affected by climate change.
Ruhollah Amin, head of climate change at the National Environmental Protection Agency, told Salam Watandar: “Climate change is a global phenomenon and has external causes. Countries like Afghanistan have no role in climate change, but it is very vulnerable to climate change and these climate changes can have negative consequences for Afghanistan.”
Mr. Amin, regarding the interaction and relationship of the National Environmental Protection Agency with international institutions that work in the direction of fighting environmental damage, said that Afghanistan is a member of the United Nations Climate Change Convention, therefore it must adhere to its obligations in this convention. He added: “According to the political considerations of international institutions and despite the great efforts of Afghanistan and the online and face-to-face meetings of the National Environmental Protection Agency with these institutions, the international institutions still politicized the issue and reduced the process of their financial and technical assistance to have been suspended.”
On the other hand, Bahram Biram, an environmental expert, said that climate change has external and internal factors. He added: “It has two factors. One is the international factor that the whole world has become vulnerable, which is the issue of the use of greenhouse gases and the use of technology. And another internal factor is that our people are not aware and their carelessness has caused climate change.”
Abdulbasit Rahmani, another environmental expert, about the ways to manage and prevent climate change, said that in order to combat climate change, large investments must be made in the field of modern technologies, which can be used to combat this phenomenon. He added: “Even in the international fields of communication, it should be strengthened and, in fact, an active and expert force should be appointed in this area and start its work for climate and environmental management.”
Earlier, Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, had stated that Afghanistan was the sixth vulnerable country in terms of climate change.
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