Talks on Climate Change Involve the Taliban Government for the First Time

Kabul: According to organizers on Wednesday, the Taliban administration has begun discussions over the effects of climate change in Afghanistan with the UN, funders, and non-governmental organizations.
Afghanistan is among the nations least equipped to deal with the consequences of climate change, which are causing severe weather and altering natural habitats, after 40 years of conflict.

Since the Taliban took power in 2021, donors have reduced their help to Afghanistan because they are reluctant to support a government that is seen as a pariah, further endangering impoverished and climate-vulnerable populations.

At a press conference in Kabul on Tuesday, country director Terje Watterdal informed reporters that the Norwegian Afghanistan Committee (NAC) co-hosted three days of negotiations that came to a close on Monday.

According to him, since the August 2021 government transition, this was the first time Taliban representatives had “joined a parallel session, face-to-face and online, with a broad range of their counterparts in the West.”

Universities, diplomats, UN organizations, funders, and ordinary Afghan citizens participated in the discussions.

According to Watterdal, all parties agree that “both individual and collective action is required both inside and outside of Afghanistan.”

“All government ministries committed their full support for the national and international organisations working to combat climate change and reduce the impact of climate change in Afghanistan.”

Divergent views

How to deal with the Taliban authorities, who have imposed an extreme version of Islamic authority in Afghanistan, has divided opinion around the globe.

Some have said that they need to be excluded from the global community until they lift the restrictions placed on women and girls, which have prevented millions of them from receiving an education.

Others have argued for discussing less contentious issues with Taliban leadership in order to help the people of this very poor country.

“It is necessary to de-politicize key development issues, such as climate change,” according to Watterdal.

However, he claimed that the gender distribution of the speakers was 50/50 “to ensure that we also have the women’s perspective when it comes to climate change”.

Afghans’ livelihoods are significantly impacted by climate change, as 80 percent of the 43 million people living there depend on agriculture for a living.

According to academics, Afghanistan is sixth among the countries most susceptible to climate change, while it only contributes 0.06 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition, Afghanistan’s temperature has increased by 1.8 degrees Celsius (35.2 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1950, above the 1.5 degree Celsius (34.7 degree) worldwide average.

Massive rainfall in Afghanistan this month, after an exceptionally dry winter, resulted in the deaths of over 100 people.

The National Environmental Protection Agency of Afghanistan’s deputy director, Zainul Abideen Abid, said that “climate change management is a priority”.

“We demand that all pertinent United Nations agencies move beyond simple platitudes and implement concrete measures,” he said, requesting the unlocking of more funds for the nation.

In addition, he demanded that Afghanistan be present at the November COP29 meeting in Azerbaijan. The administration of the Taliban was not invited to the COP28 in Dubai last year.