ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid on Sunday stressed the country’s commitment to increasing international cooperation on combating climate change, emphasizing the need for collective efforts toward that end.

"Climate change does not only represent an environmental challenge, but it directly affects the health security of our peoples and the stability of countries and societies," said Rashid at a conference in Baghdad dedicated to climate change and its impact on Iraq’s health security.

A delegation of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), led by Health Minister Saman Barzanji, is also at the conference. The delegation will take part in a number of panel discussions.

“Iraq, at the level of the federal government and the Kurdistan Region, is committed to cooperating with partners in the international community to search for sustainable and effective solutions to address the challenges of climate change,” said the Iraqi president.

Rashid, a former water resources minister, has repeatedly highlighted combating climate change and water scarcity as one of the main priorities on his agenda as president of Iraq.

The conference is set to conclude on Monday with several pannel discussions including with representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Development Fund (UNDP), and other international bodies.

"Success in confronting climate change requires collective, cooperative, and international efforts based on science and innovation, and benefiting from global expertise,” Rashid added.

The UN has listed Iraq as one of the most susceptible countries to the effects of climate change. Volker Turk, the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, said last year that Iraq was facing “a human rights emergency” because of the effects of climate change, describing what he witnessed during a visit to Basra as “a small piece of the environmental horror.”