EPTDO in COP27
Afghanistan is one of the top six most vulnerable countries in the world when it comes to the ravaging effects of climate change and environmental issues. The pandemic, droughts, flashfloods, air and water pollution, natural disasters, global warming, famine, earthquakes, global restrictions, poverty and hunger, power outages and gender-based restrictions are the most critical pressures driving the work of all national level organizations and the private sector. Based on the UN reports, 24 million people are facing hunger and serious poverty. This is because about 80% of the Afghanistan population relies on agriculture that droughts and flash floods have severely compromised. Agricultural productivity is dangerously reduced. People don’t have safe food to eat and clean water to drink. Another problem is air pollution in Kabul and other big cities in the country. For many years’ air and water pollution has been taking the lives of thousands of people and is only set to worsen with continued local pollution and the larger issue of global warming.
After passing a lengthy application process, the EPTDO has been invited by the UN to attend the world’s largest climate change conference in Egypt in November 2022, as an observer and participant in these global climate dialogues called COP27. EPTDO is the only environmentally active organization in Afghanistan, and the only organization admitted to COP conferences.
Afghanistan has membership with the UNFCCC Convention, and every year Afghanistan’s top governmental authorities have to attend COP conferences, but, due to political restrictions in 2022, there are no government officials attending from Afghanistan. Because of the pandemic, the COP conference was not conducted in 2020. In 2021, COP26 was conducted in Glasgow but due to the changes of the regime and political power, Afghanistan missed this conference. However, Afghanistan should have been there, as it is in the top six of the most vulnerable countries, but instead this climate-affected country has been absent from the global stage for years.
Fortunately, after successfully applying, the EPTDO became an eligible organization and now it is in the admitted NGOs list, the only organization in this list from Afghanistan.
Mr. Abdulhadi Achakzai Founder and Director of the EPTDO was invited to COP27 global summit and he attended full conference successfully. You can read the report of Mr. Achakzai’s participation in COP27. Click here.
United Nations Climate Change 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27).
During the U.N (COP27), Mr. Achakzai was sitting on the Afghanistan desk.
During the U.N (COP27) Mr. Achakzai was sitting on the Afghanistan desk.
U.N Climate Change 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) high-level sessions.