Abed Hameed al-Brahimi’s watchdog does not bark. Instead, it lies thirsty and starving outside the Iraqi farmer’s house. Al-Brahimi’s farm looks like a desert, writes Reuters. Far from the green oasis it was a year ago. Without the opportunity to irrigate, he has not sown a single grain of rice this year. Most of his livestock, cows and chickens, have died of thirst. – What is happening now has never happened before. We are completely destroyed, says the 45-year-old as he stands by his fields at Al-Meshkhab, a couple of hundred kilometers south of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The desecrated village of Al-Bu Hussain, where Abbas Elwan drilled hole after hole to find water. Photo: ALAA AL-MARJANI / Reuters Lost hope Not far from al-Brahimi’s farm, Abbas Elwan ran his family farm. Prolonged drought had scorched the fields. Elwan drilled hole after hole to find water, but to no avail. One evening he went out and did not come home. The next day he was found next to the last hole he had drilled. He had taken his own life. – That hole was his last hope and there was no water, his brother Ali told Reuters. Hikma Meteab makes tea while her three-year-old daughter Ghufran Abbas looks on. The two are now alone in their home in the village of Al-Bu Hussain. Photo: ALAA AL-MARJANI / Reuters Almost empty of water The stories of the two farmers repeat themselves place after place in Iraq. Hatem Hamid Hussein is head of Iraq’s Center for Water Resources. He is responsible for the country’s dams, where water for both cities and agriculture is collected. – This year we only have 11 per cent as much water as we had in 2019, he says. The result is that many farmers give up and move to the cities. “The Fertile Crescent” The areas are part of what was called “The Fertile Crescent”. It is a belt that stretches through what was once called Mesopotamia, and today lies mostly in Syria and Iraq. This is where humanity first started with organized agriculture. It is not easy to spot today where the landscapes are desolate. The UN considers the country to be the fifth most vulnerable to climate change in the world. Extreme heat, less rain, sandstorms and saltwater destroying the earth are the biggest problems in both Iraq and Syria. The Red Cross has assessed the climate and environmental threats to Yemen, Syria and Iraq. The countries have problems in almost every area. Photo: Red Cross Ravaged by civil war In addition to climate change, Iraq and Syria are also ravaged by civil war. The same applies to Yemen, in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula. According to the UN development program UNDP, Yemen is threatened by, among other things, drought, floods and sea level rise due to climate change. In addition, there is a civil war – with foreign intervention – in which 150,000 people have been killed since 2014. In the same period, at least 227,000 people have starved to death, according to the UNDP. Internally displaced persons in a camp in western Yemen that was hit by extreme torrential rain in August this year. Photo: KHALED ZIAD / AFP Climate crisis at war Together with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Norwegian Red Cross has looked at the consequences of the climate crisis in war-torn countries. In a report to be presented this week, the Red Cross points to a number of points where war exacerbates the climate crisis. news has been granted exclusive access to the report, which shows, among other things, that refugees and internally displaced persons are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of extreme weather. In Iraq, Yemen and Syria, refugee camps and settlements of internally displaced persons have been badly hit by floods, storms or extreme temperatures. In Yemen alone, 1.6 million internally displaced people live in camps consisting of tents, barracks and sheds. In 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, Yemen was hit by extensive floods. The floods not only destroy the poor homes, but bring with them diseases such as cholera, diphtheria and malaria. Getting little money Despite the fact that few, if any, countries in the world have as great a need for help as Iraq, Yemen and Syria, they receive almost no support from climate funds. The Paris Agreement obliges rich countries to support more vulnerable countries with funds for emission reduction and climate adaptation. In order for poor countries to be able to receive money, the international climate funds that distribute the money require that the poor countries have detailed applications on how they will use the money, writes Red Cross Countries at war struggle to make reports and write applications. The Red Cross’ review shows that neither Yemen nor Syria has a national climate adaptation plan, while Iraq has barely started its own. The result is that the countries hardly get any money. A review of data from 27 international climate funds shows that the three countries have only received a total of 20.6 million dollars from them. It is out of a total of 21.3 billion dollars that has been distributed from the money. Put another way; three of the countries with the greatest need have received less than a thousandth – one per thousand – of the money that has been distributed. At this year’s climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, it was agreed to create a fund for loss and damage:
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Three of the world’s most needy countries have received less than one per thousand of the climate fund – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
