Iran Tells COP31 It Wants Compensation for War Damage to the Environment
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian used his address to the COP31 climate summit on Wednesday to demand compensation for environmental damage caused by the United States and Israeli strikes, arguing that climate commitments made in peacetime must be tied to accountability in war.
Speaking on the third day of the two-week conference, Pezeshkian called on the international community to document and assess the ecological harm done by military attacks and to create mechanisms to compensate those who suffer it. Existing climate agreements channel billions of dollars from wealthy countries to developing ones, but they do not cover pollution and destruction caused by armed conflict. No response from Washington or Tel Aviv was immediately available.
The United States and Israel launched their campaign against Iran in late February. The fighting spread to Lebanon and the Gulf, with repeated strikes on energy infrastructure and attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz that have caused substantial oil leaks. Qatari mediation has not ended the confrontation.
The appeal lands as a consortium of scientists reported on Tuesday that global fossil fuel emissions are on course to fall slightly this year, partly because high fuel prices and the wider use of renewables followed the conflict.
Algeria is represented at the summit by a government delegation led by Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb, acting on behalf of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Algiers has pledged to cut emissions by 14 per cent by 2035, or 31 per cent with international support, and aims for 15,000 megawatts of renewable capacity. It has stressed climate finance and technology transfer. It has also called for disputes to be settled in line with the United Nations Charter. The summit ends on 20 November.
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