AGENTS OF CHANGE YOUTH FELLOWSHIP - The Cradle of Civilization is in Peril: - a closer look at the impact of Climate Change in Iraq

There is indeed an increasing created social, economic, and financial vulnera- consensus that climate change in the region bility and fragility susceptible to external shocks acts as a “threat multiplier” that can exacerbate and stressors.7, 8 drivers of conflict and fragility and have negative effects on peace and stability. [...] This analysis will Displacement and individual experiences are explore number of dimensions to the impact key factors contributing to vulnerability to en- of climate change, and in particular, the issue vironmental change—including unique experi- Green Entrepreneurship: A Pathway to Sustainable Development Page 2 and Peace in MENA ences by historically marginalized populations.9 Figure 1: Map of I. [...] localized control, ranging from political spheres of influence due to the distributed nature of In the MENA region, states, practitioners and some of the locations, illicit activities through the international community should view this drug and weapon smuggling, or conflicts over issue from the perspective of the “peace-fra- natural resources. [...] The combination of these challenges reinforces cycles of tension and threatens already-fragile Figure 3: WFP temperature and vegetation map of Iraq23 Green Entrepreneurship: A Pathway to Sustainable Development Page 6 and Peace in MENA Recommendations and Areas of climate change, fragility, and peacebuilding. [...] These should be informed by and in align- ment with: (1) the Government of Iraq’s green paper detailing plans intended to assess and implement measures to mitigate the impact of climate change and support Iraq’s net-zero transition;25 (2) Support for the GoI in delivering the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which is the plan to adapt to climate change and Green Entrepreneurship: A Pathwa.