The Republic of Iraq is a country in southwestern Asia. Iraq’s economy is dominated by the oil sector, which contributes about 60% to national gross domestic product. Iraq is topographically divided into four regions: the great Mesopotamian alluvial plains of the Tigris; the Euphrates Rivers; the mountains in the north and east; and the desert in the south and west. Over 40% of the country is desert, and is sparsely populated due to harsh weather conditions. In many parts of the country, good quality water is sparse due to salinity. Desertification and water scarcity due to river flow fluctuations render Iraq vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. Iraq  continues facing severe security challenges. The widespread insecurity since 2014 has created a major humanitarian crisis with 10 million people in need and over 3 million internally displaced persons. The standard of living has deteriorated and a noticeable share of the population has fallen into poverty or is extremely vulnerable to falling into poverty.

The Ministry of Environment  is the key coordinating body for development, coordination and implementation of environmental and climate change policies in Iraq. Iraq has yet to ratify the Paris Agreement as of March 2018, but the country has produced an Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, which can be found here (in Arabic).