KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban-controlled National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) has stated that Afghanistan will need $20.6 billion in financial assistance by 2030 to address the worsening impacts of climate change.
Ruhollah Amin, head of the climate change division at NEPA, announced at a press conference in Kabul today that Afghanistan’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) will be submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat in February 2024.
This revised framework aims to secure international aid as outlined during the COP29 summit in Baku, where wealthier nations pledged $300 billion annually to support vulnerable countries by 2035.
During the conference, Matiul-Haq Khalis, the Taliban-appointed head of NEPA, detailed the severe climate impacts already evident in Afghanistan. He indicated that average temperatures across the country have risen by 1.8°C since 2019, with some regions experiencing increases as high as 2.4°C. These temperature changes have led to the melting of 181 kilometers of glaciers, significantly altering Afghanistan’s environmental landscape.
The rising temperatures and associated climate events are devastating key sectors of Afghan society. Khalis explained that the agricultural sector suffers annual losses amounting to $280 million, while droughts and natural disasters have displaced 2.5 million people by the end of 2023. Floods claim an average of 700 lives each year and cause $300 million in damage to infrastructure annually.
He added that over the past decade, 45,000 homes have been destroyed, and an additional 111,490 have been damaged. Meanwhile, the crisis has put 149 species of plants and animals at risk of extinction and deprived 21 million Afghans of access to clean drinking water.
Afghanistan is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, despite contributing only 0.8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The country faces one of its worst humanitarian crises in decades, as prolonged drought exacerbates food and water shortages.
According to an OCHA report analyzing the drought disaster between 2021 and 2023, climate change and fatal droughts across Afghanistan have left 79% of its population without sufficient water for their daily needs, including drinking and cooking.
Despite the urgency, Afghanistan’s isolation from international climate forums since the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021 has hindered its ability to address these challenges.
Afghanistan has been excluded from three consecutive UN Climate Change Conferences, including COP28 in December 2023. International sanctions on the Taliban have blocked access to key climate funding, such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
Before the Taliban seized power, the GCF had approved an $18 million sustainable energy project for Afghanistan, but this funding has since been frozen.
The ongoing environmental and humanitarian crises underscore Afghanistan’s dire need for global support. However, with international sanctions and political isolation restricting access to critical resources, the country remains perilously unprepared to tackle one of the most severe climate emergencies in its history.
