According to the Public Relations Office, Shina Ansari, Vice President and Head of the Department of Environment, delivered the opening remarks on the second day of the COP29 international conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The full text of her speech is as follows:
Mr. Chairman,
Executive Secretary,
Honorable leaders and representatives,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At the outset, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Government and the people of Azerbaijan for hosting the twenty-ninth session of the COP 29 which should provide an opportunity for realistic, fair, and inclusive actions in line with the principle of Common but differentiated responsibilities to address global crises and challenges arising from climate change.
The national sovereignty and priorities, approaches and modalities are key to address the global climate change challenges, and to transform the global energy system. In this way, the countries should have equal access to the technologies, knowledge, investment, and nuclear energy in order to increase the share of clean and renewable energy for achieving this goal. Therefore, baseless political excuses and illegal unilateral sanctions should not impede the efforts of member states in their strive.
The illegal and unjust unilateral sanctions, significantly limits the ability of member countries to access and utilize global financial resources and to develop scientific and technology-based equipment. Until these sanctions are completely lifted, expecting adherence to the noble environmental objectives of the convention is unjustified and irrational. Therefore, I call upon all the member states to condemn this political measures and act on removing these restrictions.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished representatives
Honorable Representa
Iran as a signatory to over 15 multilateral environment agreements, is one of the active countries in environmental conservation and combating climate change. Iran has taken numerous measures to address climate change threats with further initiatives underway. These include the issuance of general policies, related to climate change management and green economy expansion emphasizing on low-emission industries by the highest authority in our country, as well as the inclusion of a national climate change management plan in the country’s Seventh Five-Year Development Plan (2023-2027). Additionally, implementing projects such as converting fossil fuel-based power plants to combined-cycled power plants, reducing emissions in the oil and gas industry, expanding renewable solar and nuclear energy, and other similar actions are further effective steps we have taken.
Mr chairman,
We, the member states of the United Nations, have gathered here to address environmental pollution on our planet and to work together constructively to attenuate human suffering. But how can we achieve this goal when, in the past year alone, more than 43,000 people—more than half of whom were women, children, and infants—have been killed by the occupying Zionist regime? This is in addition to the recent casualties resulting from the regime’s brutal attacks on Lebanon. Tragically, many of these victims lost their lives in attacks on hospitals, medical centers, schools, and entirely civilian camps by this fabricated regime.
According to a recent report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the environmental impacts of the Zionist regime's brutal attacks on the defenseless people of Gaza, this regime's intense bombardment has led to unprecedented destruction of critical infrastructure, including wastewater and solid waste management systems.
All water resources in Gaza have become contaminated, the public health situation has reached catastrophic levels, and the destruction of agricultural lands has exacerbated the risk of famine, severely impacting the Palestinians’ long-term ability to secure food supplies. Additionally, the widespread use of ammunition and Western-supplied weaponry by the Zionist regime has significantly increased the risk of citizens being exposed to toxic emissions from these weapons.
It may be more distressing still that the West, which claims to support environmental protection and human rights, remains silent in the face of the Zionist regime’s ongoing genocide and widespread atrocities in Gaza and Lebanon. This silence, maintained by adhering to double standards and selective policies, is deeply troubling.
It is evident that the adoption of political, economic, and other appropriate measures by all countries to halt and condemn the genocide and killing of innocent people in Gaza and Lebanon, to bring Israeli criminals to immediate justice, and to address environmental damages is a “shared responsibility” of all members present at this convention.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that our shared environment is a common bond and a precious heritage for all of us. We hope that international community, free from political, will stand together, exchange knowledge, transfer technology, and facilitate accessing financial resources without discrimination, and fully lift unilateral sanctions against countries, particularly the Islamic Republic of Iran, to provide a healthy and clean future for our children.
However we can not forget the fact that the current climate situation of the world is the result of the industrial polices of few developed countries, and developing states shall not be deprived of their right to development because of what others have done. Once again, we emphasize that if this conference should intends to prove its goodwill in striving for a better future for all, while persisting on avoiding double standards to achieve meaningful actions by all countries to achieve these goals. We wish success and prosperity for the global environmental community, especially for the oppressed people of Palestine and Lebanon.
Thank you