Iran Quits UN Climate Change Conference over Israeli Participation

Iran’s representatives walked out of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Friday over the participation of delegates from Israel.

The Times of Israel reported: “The Iranian side considers Israel’s presence at COP28 ‘as contrary to the goals and guidelines of the conference and, in protest, it left the conference venue,’ Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian, who heads the Iranian delegation, is quoted as saying by the official news agency IRNA.”

The Palestinian terror group Hamas, which is backed by Iran, has also reportedly urged the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is one of the pioneer nations in the Abraham Accords, to expel Israel from the conference. The UAE, which has not downgraded relations with Israel during its war against Hamas, which was started by the terror group on October 7, is unlikely to comply.

Israel’s ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, is at the conference, conducting side meetings with representatives of various nations to urge their support in freeing Israeli hostages.

Israel is recognized as a world leader in sustainable development research, particularly in water conservation and green energy. Solar energy has been part of household life in Israel for over 50 years, as solar panels are used to heat water in most buildings.

Iran suffers from chronic water shortages. In 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered Iranians assistance with water conservation, and created a website in Farsi on which ordinary Iranians could seek advice outside their own government.

Update: Jordan, which opposes the war, claimed at COP28 that the ongoing conflict is making climate change worse.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.