[{"bbox": [87, 154, 403, 184], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 1.2 Summary of the Action"}, {"bbox": [96, 208, 1135, 486], "category": "Text", "text": "Following two decades of conflict, Iraq remains fragile¹ despite Iraq's designation as an Upper Middle-Income Country (UMIC) with substantial national resources². Iraq ranked only 115 out of 165 in the SDG Index Dashboard Report of 2023³, mainly as a result of past conflict and structural deficiencies. Similarly, the Human Development Index⁴ points to Iraq's human development challenges while especially Good Governance indices⁵ paint a stark picture notably with respect to rule of law but also regulatory quality, government effectiveness, control of corruption, and voice and accountability. The country is challenged inter alia by political instability, cyclical economic recessions and poor public service delivery. Iraq's economy remains heavily dependent on oil exports, which accounts for 90% of Government revenue, and is therefore strongly affected by the sharp fluctuations in oil prices. The fragmented political landscape undermines effective Government action, security, and transparent governance."}, {"bbox": [96, 490, 1135, 674], "category": "Text", "text": "Climate change threatens to exacerbate the effects of existing poor agricultural practices in a country where agriculture is an important source of livelihoods and a barrier to desertification. Extreme weather conditions, reduced vital water supply through the Mesopotamian rivers Euphrates and Tigris, compounded by higher demand for water, are making it more difficult for the population to access safe drinking water, especially for the most vulnerable in urban areas. At the same time, Iraq's environmental degradation is deeply connected to a lack of regulatory frameworks and their enforcement that would contribute to promoting justice and accountability on environmental matters."}, {"bbox": [96, 682, 1135, 869], "category": "Text", "text": "While 2023 sees a new momentum for climate change action in the lead up to COP28, unlocking the potential of the green economy and supporting the economic transition from fossil fuels will be a long and costly process. Against a backdrop of political pressure for climate action as well as for improving service provision and governance for all Iraqis, the Action focuses on the three critical aspects: 1) promoting climate-smart sustainable agricultural practices for decent jobs in agri-food and afforestation/reforestation; 2) promoting the sustainable accessibility of drinking water in major Iraqi cities; and 3) addressing legislative and strategic gaps in environmental justice, fighting corruption and enhancing commercial justice that leads to environmental damage."}, {"bbox": [96, 884, 1135, 1072], "category": "Text", "text": "The proposed Action builds on a positive momentum to support the climate change agenda and the Government's ambition, as outlined in the 2021 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and emerging policies. Unlocking the potential of the green economy and supporting the economic transition from fossil fuels, while duly balancing this with the preservation of the environment and biodiversity for climate change resilience through environmental justice, help meet the objective of fostering decent and green jobs and growth for all, deliver on Iraq's climate change commitments and comply with EU priorities and interests. With a focus on climate change adaptation and mitigation, this proposed Action also aims at limiting climate-induced forced displacement."}, {"bbox": [96, 1087, 1135, 1274], "category": "Text", "text": "Applying a triple Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus approach, the Action capitalises on prior and ongoing EU interventions. It places Iraq people's needs at the centre of policy decisions notably vulnerable populations including youth, women, disabled and displaced persons (internally displaced, refugees, returnees)⁶. The Action focuses on mutually reinforcing interventions, maximising innovation, fostering synergies and engaging communities and civil society as well as leveraging private investment. To ensure effectiveness, the Action proposes the continuation of programmatic approaches with trusted partners that demonstrate a strong absorption and implementation capacity."}, {"bbox": [85, 1319, 1145, 1365], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹ World Bank list of fragile and conflict-affected situations FY2024 and World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicator \"political stability and absence of violence/terrorism\" Iraq percentile rank of 1.89 (out of 100, where 0 corresponds to the lowest rank)"}, {"bbox": [85, 1363, 1145, 1430], "category": "Footnote", "text": "² World Bank data dashboard: Iraq's GNI PPP amounted USD 10.820 in 2022. According to the WB definition, upper middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita between USD 4,046 and USD 12,535. Iraq thus finds itself in the upper bracket of upper middle income economies. This however needs to be balanced against Iraq's inequality indicators."}, {"bbox": [85, 1428, 387, 1451], "category": "Footnote", "text": "³ SDG Index Dashboard Report of 2023"}, {"bbox": [85, 1449, 1145, 1495], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁴ Human Development Index data centre: Iraq's HDI score 0.686 and rank 121 (out of 191) puts Iraq in the medium human development category."}, {"bbox": [85, 1493, 1145, 1581], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁵ World Bank Governance Indicators of 2021 for Iraq: rule of law (percentile rank 3.37 out of 100 against an UMIC average of 45.30), regulatory quality (percentile rank 12.50 out of 100 against an UMIC average of 46.32), government effectiveness (percentile rank 10.10 out of 100 against an UMIC average of 42.35), control of corruption (percentile rank 9.13 out of 100 against an UMIC average of 42.35), and voice and accountability (percentile rank 21.74 out of 100 against an UMIC average of 44.44)."}, {"bbox": [85, 1579, 1145, 1647], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁶ Please note that across this Action document the term vulnerable populations always refers to youth, women, disabled and displaced persons (internally displaced persons, refugees, returnees) in line with the EU commitment to the triple Nexus including returnees from Europe and elsewhere in line with the commitment to supporting their integration."}, {"bbox": [1037, 1682, 1145, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 4 of 30"}]