Pezeshkian Urges Compensation Mechanisms for War-Related Environmental Damage

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called for stronger mechanisms to document and compensate for environmental damage caused by military attacks, addressing the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Türkiye, on November 11. He urged countries to link their peacetime climate commitments with responsibility for environmental harm during war. Pezeshkian accused the United States and Israel of causing environmental damage through attacks on Iran. Citing Iranian assessments, he said attacks on fuel facilities at Asaluyeh had released about 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, while attacks on fuel-storage tanks around Tehran had released about one million tonnes. He said military fuel consumption, ammunition explosions, infrastructure destruction and fires undermined environmental efforts. “Peace is a prerequisite for protecting the environment, and protecting the environment is a prerequisite for lasting peace,” he said. The president also said Iran’s renewable electricity-generation capacity had risen from approximately 1,250 megawatts to more than 6,150 megawatts over two years. He put clean electricity generation during the current year at more than 4.5 billion kilowatt-hours and said it had avoided approximately 2.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. In a March 10 letter to the UN Security Council, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar described Israel’s joint operation with the United States as intended to remove an existential threat. He cited Iran’s nuclear and long-range missile activities and accused Iran of missile and drone attacks against Israeli civilians.