Iraq’s prime minister Sunday promised sweeping measures to tackle climate change — which has affected millions across the country — including plans to meet a third of the country’s electricity demands using renewable energy.

Climate change for years has compounded the woes of the troubled country. Droughts and increased water salinity have destroyed crops, animals and farms and dried up entire bodies of water. Hospitals have faced waves of patients with respiratory illnesses caused by rampant sandstorms. Climate change has also played a role in Iraq’s ongoing struggle to combat cholera.

Iraq also hopes to provide one-third of the country’s electricity demand through renewable energy instead of fossil fuel.

Iraq’s Central Bank has approved a ID1 trillion ($680m) fund for renewable energy projects in the country.Also in October 2021, a consortium of Norway’s Scatec, Egypt’s Orascom Construction and local company Bilal signed agreements to develop 525MW of solar capacity in Iraq.The 525MW of PV solar capacity will be developed in the provinces of Babel and Karbala in southern Iraq. The value of the project will be about $500m.