Iran's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution on reducing greenhouse gas emissions will soon be submitted to the Parliament for ratification before making its way to the Guardians Council for the final go-ahead along with the bill to join the international Paris climate accord.
INDC is a document clearly specifying the commitments of each country that is party to the Paris Agreement with regard to the level and method of reducing carbon dioxide emission and oil and gas consumption by 2030.
Iran's INDC was prepared and approved by the Cabinet prior to the signing of the pact by almost 200 UN member states.
According to Majid Shafiepour, president of Iran's National Institute on Climate Change and Environment, to take a step toward obtaining the final consent to accede to the Paris accord, Iran's climate change working group decided to review and submit the same INDC to the Majlis and the Guardians Council, ISNA reported.
"Iran's climate action plan, which had already been approved by the Cabinet when the Paris Agreement was signed in December 2015, involves the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 4% unconditionally and by 8% on condition of sanctions relief," Shafiepour said.
"After the INDC is ratified by the Majlis, it will be vetted by the Guardians Council together with the pact for a final decision."
Once the agreement is approved by the council, Iran's Foreign Ministry will submit the final documents to the secretariat of the climate agreement convention, and that is when Iran effectively accedes to the Paris Agreement.
Tardy Action
"Out of the total of 176 countries joining the accord, 162 countries have submitted their INDCs to the UN, including the top 10 carbon dioxide emitters, [making Iran a large carbon dioxide producer that has yet to submit its climate action plan]," Shafiepour said.
Iran's action plan is thoroughly adjusted to the Constitution and entirely in line with the country's economic growth, the official noted.
The accord was approved in the Iranian Parliament in November 2016 and was submitted to the Guardians Council for final approval. Despite being earlier endorsed by the Cabinet and Parliament, it faced objection by the Guardians Council and was referred back to the Majlis for further review.
The council requested the submission of the INDC to review both documents at the same time.
The Paris pact aims to reduce the threat of global climate change by keeping the temperature rise well below 2° Celsius above pre-industrial times and possibly even lower to 1.5° C.
It was adopted by 196 parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December 2015. As of May 2018, 195 UNFCCC members have signed the agreement, and 176 have become party to the pact.
Differing Views
Although the pact seems to be a helping hand to today's vulnerable environment, there have been opposing ideas about it.
Opponents maintain that mitigation plans would carry an exorbitant cost for Iran and it is not wise to blindly sign on to it unless the international community agrees to help supply the funds. Suspicions over possible threats to national interests have compelled the authorities to treat the case with caution.
Officials believe that the terms of the agreement should be carefully reviewed to make sure that they will not be forcibly imposed, since the country will have to face consequences upon failure to meet the targets.
"We should not undertake commitments that will likely give excuses to the international community to impose fines or sanctions on us for any default in fulfilling them," Karim Shafei, deputy for legal and parliamentary affairs at the Department of Environment had earlier said.
Advocates, on the other hand, believe that the outcome of the projects will eventually serve national interests, so it is worth joining it and implementing low-cost plans.
The climate agreement is to take effect in 2020. US President Donald Trump has already announced his intention to withdraw the US from the deal despite being initially a party to it.
Other major states are taking the initiative in introducing strategies to reverse the unfavorable trend of climate change.
France, for instance, has announced a five-year plan to ban all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 as part of the Paris Agreement.
It has also pledged that it would no longer use coal to produce electricity after 2022 and that up to €4 billion will be invested in boosting energy efficiency.
