World Bank: Iraq burns 12% of global gas at a cost of $2.5 billion annually
The World Bank has set its vision on ridding Iraq of the disadvantages of burning the associated gas, the cost of losing it, and the amount of funds needed to invest it.
“A $36 billion investment will fully convert this gas into energy by 2030,” the bank said in its report (Climate and Development).
“The report is an analytical basis for harmonizing development and climate action, as it asked four basic questions, which are how climate affects the country’s development, who is most affected by its change, and the effects of low-carbon transformation, how Iraq can respond to its development needs in a cost and in a climate-smart way, and how it can finance the transition to low carbon,” the adviser to the Parliamentary Health and Environment Committee, Ammar Al-Atta said in a press statement.
He added that “the report focused on three main sectors: water, energy and transport, and pointed to dangerous figures, including that climate change will increase water scarcity by 20%, which will reflect on GDP, unskilled labor and increase prices for consumers. The report also stressed improving water efficiency, which can mitigate these effects.”
Al-Atta pointed to important figures in the field of energy, which are that “12% of the burned gas in the world is in Iraq, and it costs to burn 2.5 billion dollars annually, so Iraq needs investments to convert gas into energy estimated at $ 36 billion until 2030, and the transition to low carbon in Iraq must be accompanied by reforms in the electricity sector, support for financial conditions
“The report called for the need for development measures and low economic costs such as the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund to ensure the recovery of the costs of the energy sector, the elimination of gas flaring, the improvement of water use efficiency, the promotion of private sector participation in the economy and the adoption of a national governance framework for climate change,” the adviser in parliament explained.
The report omited, according to Atta, “the aspects of the transition towards clean energy, as the report stressed the importance of solar energy, but did not take into account the issue of dust and dust storms, which is that Iraq is about to have 300 dusty days, which affects the efficiency of the work of solar cells, as well as that Iraq is an oil country rich
He warned “the housing sector and how it can reduce emissions and rationalize energy consumption using environmentally friendly building materials, and technologies that isolate walls, ceilings and windows that reduce energy consumption by 40%.”