Taliban-affiliated media reported that a delegation from the Taliban administration's environmental protection agency will not participate in the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP31, in Turkey. Officials confirmed that the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change did not issue an invitation to them.
According to Hurriyat Radio, which is linked to the Taliban, host country Turkey had invited the Taliban as a guest. However, in the absence of an official invitation from the United Nations Secretariat, the delegation's participation has been ruled out.
The global COP31 summit began on November 9 in Antalya, Turkey, and continues until November 20. The Taliban have previously participated only once, attending the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, as guests in 2024.
The Taliban were also not invited to the COP30 summit held in Brazil last year, marking this the second consecutive year of their exclusion from the high-level international climate event.
Afghanistan ranks among the six most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, despite having a negligible contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, suffering severely from global warming impacts.
The nation's heavy reliance on agriculture, compounded by recurring droughts, catastrophic flash floods, and climate-induced displacement alongside political instability, has deepened the humanitarian and economic crises facing Afghans.
Source: Hurriyat Radio
🌐
