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Hostilities directly impact soil and air pollution, Armenian President says ahead of COP27 conference in Egypt

Military clashes and hostilities have a direct impact on soil and air pollution and affect agricultural pastures, green areas and forests, Armenian president Vahagn Khachaturyan said in an interview with Egyptian Middle East news agency on the sidelines of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27).

 “As a country holding the chairmanship of the Conference, Egypt has the opportunity to unite the developed and developing countries around common interests, creating a more favorable atmosphere for solving the main challenges,” said President Khachaturyan.

“The Conference is an opportunity for the entire world to evaluate the climatic events of the past years and closely cooperate to overcome the climate crisis, taking into consideration the different national conditions and capacities of the countries. The Conference is also a platform for encouraging climate financing for the transition to a green economic system and adaptation to climate change, raising the awareness of developing countries about climate technologies, as well as increasing global climate ambitions.

Speaking of the impact of climate change on migration flows, the President noted, that the hydro-meteorological dangerous phenomena that have become more frequent and lasting, such as hail, early frost, spring floods, mudslides, landslides and droughts leave their negative footprint on agriculture every year, and all this also affects migration flows, which take place not only between neighboring settlements, but also between continents.

The President also highlighted that military clashes and hostilities have a direct impact on soil and air pollution and affect agricultural pastures, green areas and forests. The clearest and brightest example of this are the large-scale forest fires caused by military operations, increased soil and air pollution from shell explosions, etc.

President Vahagn Khachaturyan urged the international community to unite their efforts to combat such issues, as the consequences of different conflicts and military clashes in particular, have extremely negative impact on the environment and the climatic conditions.

Vahagn Khachaturyan noted that climate change adaptation policies and measures are crucial for Armenia’s capacity to reach its social and economic development goals. He said the Government of Armenia has set a new target for mitigating climate change at the level of the whole economy – reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 compared to 1990.

Touching upon Armenian-Egyptian relations, President Khachaturyan noted that the relations between Armenia and Egypt are based on centuries-old friendship of the two peoples, and this is a solid basis for maintaining and further strengthening the close and warm relations between the two countries. The President expressed confidence that the relations between Armenia and Egypt would continue to develop and deepen. 

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