Although Iran ranks 17th in the world in terms of population, Masumeh Ebtekar said Iran is now the ninth-highest producer of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, due to the country’s economy and environment suffering for years from a wrong model of energy consumption.
Ebtekar made the remarks in today’s Parliament session where she attended to defend the bill on Iran's membership to the Paris Agreement; “Our energy consumption is five times more than the world average and nine times more than the European average, and even that with the lowest efficiency, which has placed our country as the 9th biggest greenhouse gas emitter in the world,” she said.
In 2014, Iran was the seventh-highest producer of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, and has made a two-place improvement in the last two years.
“In the general policies on environment, the Iranian Leader has ordered a 50 per cent drop in energy consumption, and based on this, the government has proposed a number of related plans,” she added.
Ebtekar noted that Iran was part of the formation of the Paris Agreement from the beginning, adding “the Agreement has predicted technical, financial and scientific support via the Global Fund, and contains no sanctions or penalties.”
“By signing up to the Agreement, we can obtain many benefits for combating climate change and preserving our forests and wetlands,” she added.
The present lawmakers at today’s session passed the bill on Iran’s membership to the Paris Agreement with 149 votes in favor, 6 votes against and 8 abstentions.
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