Energy, Infrastructure, Water, Environment and Urban Development

Environmental Protection, Climate Action and Biodiversity Law

Document numberPOL-54

TypeProposed federal bill — repeal and replacement

Version1.0

Publication and update date7 October 2026

Executive summary

This bill modernises Iraq’s environmental protection framework by replacing Environmental Protection and Improvement Law No. (27) of 2009 with a framework connecting three practically and legally intertwined areas: pollution control, impact assessment and compliance; climate action, adaptation and transparency; and biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration. It creates no executive body parallel to the Ministry, instead reorganising the existing council, fund, environmental police and inspection and permitting tools. It adds elements missing from the present system: strategic environmental assessment, an emissions and pollutants register, integrated climate measurement, reporting and verification, and modern restoration and environmental liability rules.

The constitutional basis is direct: Article (33) recognises everyone’s right to live in sound environmental conditions and obliges the state to protect the environment and biodiversity. Environmental policy is a shared competence under Article (114), subject to Article (115)’s shared-powers rule. The Law is therefore drafted around federal–regional coordination of policy, data and international obligations, avoiding its use to override regions’ constitutional powers.

On climate, Iraq’s NDC 3.0 has been registered with the United Nations Framework Convention since 13 November 2025. It raises the unconditional emissions-reduction target to 3% by 2030 and establishes a 2035 unconditional target of up to 5% and a conditional target of up to 17%, totalling 22% against business as usual where support conditions are fulfilled. The bill translates these commitments into a legal cycle for the national contribution, inventories, transparency, adaptation and climate finance, without imposing a carbon-neutrality target whose basis the state has not legally adopted.

On biodiversity, the bill builds on Iraq’s membership of the Convention on Biological Diversity and Cartagena Protocol, without assuming membership of the Nagoya Protocol. Specialist details concerning waste, water, energy, mining and urban planning remain in sectoral legislation, while this Law supplies the cross-sector environmental ‘umbrella’ and protection, compliance and liability standards.

Current constitutional and legislative context

The legislation starts from Article (33) of the Republic of Iraq’s 2005 Constitution, recognising the right to sound environmental conditions and obliging the state to protect the environment and biodiversity. Article (114/Third) places environmental policymaking among shared competences, in cooperation with regions and governorates not incorporated into a region, while Article (115) governs regional law’s priority in shared-power disputes. Modern federal environmental legislation must therefore clearly identify shared federal functions — national standards, coordination, data, international obligations and transboundary impacts — while respecting the constitutional structure.

The federal environmental law in force when this document was prepared is Environmental Protection and Improvement Law No. (27) of 2009. It established the Environmental Protection and Improvement Council and Environmental Protection Fund, liability for damage, and warning, closure and fine mechanisms. However, it predates the Paris Agreement, modern climate transparency, the global biodiversity framework and the need for strategic environmental assessment and digital disclosure and compliance systems. The Council of Representatives held readings and discussions on new environmental legislation in 2024–2025, and calls and deliberations continued in 2026 to strengthen enforcement tools and penalties and address institutional and water pollution.

An important regulatory system should not be dismantled when replacing the Law, including regulations and instructions on emissions, environmental assessment, nature reserves, biosafety and environmental police. The bill therefore preserves these instruments insofar as consistent during transition until progressively amended or replaced.

Existing foundations on which the bill builds
Area	Current position	Treatment in the bill
Environmental right	An express constitutional right and biodiversity protection.	Translate the right into information, participation, assessment and enforcement tools.
Jurisdiction	Environmental policy is a shared competence.	Federal–regional coordination and drafting respecting Articles 114 and 115.
General law	Law 27 of 2009 is in force.	Repeal and replacement, temporarily retaining non-conflicting regulations.
Climate	Iraq is a Paris Agreement party with an active NDC 3.0.	A legal framework for contributions, inventories, MRV, adaptation and Article 6.
Biodiversity	Iraq is a party to the CBD and Cartagena Protocol, but not Nagoya.	Strategy, register, protected areas, restoration and domestic ABS, without assuming an inapplicable obligation.

Legislative policy

The bill adopts a comprehensive framework-law model rather than a short law wholly dependent on instructions. It establishes principles, rights, competences, assessment, permitting, enforcement, liability, climate and biodiversity tools in the Law itself, leaving changing technical details — pollutant schedules, measurement thresholds and permit forms — to regulations and instructions.

The bill does not rewrite sectoral legislation. Waste, circular economy and hazardous substances are addressed in detail in POL-55; water in POL-52 and POL-53; energy in POL-49 to POL-51; urban planning in POL-56; construction in POL-58; and mining in POL-61. This Law defines the cross-cutting environmental requirements those sectors must respect, supplying a single assessment, compliance and liability mechanism.

Enforcement approach: The system moves from an almost uniform fixed fine to a response ladder combining corrective plans, administrative fines, temporary suspension, recovery of damage costs and criminal liability for serious incidents. The primary goal remains removing danger and restoring the environment, rather than collecting fines.

Text of the bill

Proposed federal bill

In the name of the people
Presidency of the Republic

On the basis of what the Council of Representatives has passed pursuant to Article (61), paragraph (First), and Article (73), paragraph (Third), of the Constitution, the following law is issued:

Chapter One — General provisions and principles

Article (1) — Name and substantive scope

This Law is called the Environmental Protection, Climate Action and Biodiversity Law. It establishes the general federal framework for protecting environmental components, preventing and reducing pollution and addressing its effects, regulating climate action, conserving biodiversity and restoring ecosystems, without prejudice to more protective sectoral laws.

Article (2) — Objectives

The Law aims to realise the right to sound environmental conditions; protect health, natural resources, biodiversity and natural heritage; integrate environmental and climate considerations into public decisions and investment; improve prevention, oversight and enforcement; and ensure transparency, participation and access to environmental justice.

Article (3) — Scope of application

This Law applies to federal state authorities’ activities, public and private establishments, natural and legal persons within constitutional competence, inter-governorate and transboundary environmental impacts, and implementation of international obligations to which the Republic of Iraq is a party under the Constitution and law.

Article (4) — Respect for the federal system

Powers under this Law shall be exercised consistently with constitutional provisions governing shared competences and the powers of regions and governorates not incorporated into a region. Cooperation with a region on environmental policy, national programmes, monitoring and international reports shall rely on coordination, data exchange and respect for constitutional powers.

Article (5) — Definitions

For this Law: Ministry means the federal Ministry of Environment; Minister means the Minister of Environment; Council means the Environmental Protection, Climate Action and Biodiversity Council; environmental damage means a measurable harmful change to air, water, soil, species, habitats or ecosystem services; pollution means introducing a substance, energy or agent into the environment at a level causing or likely to cause harm; emission means a direct or indirect release into air, water or soil; polluter means any person causing pollution or controlling an activity causing it; adaptation means reducing exposure and sensitivity to climate risks and increasing resilience; mitigation means reducing greenhouse gas emissions or enhancing removals; biodiversity means diversity within and between species and ecosystems; ecological restoration means assisting a degraded ecosystem to recover its structure, functions and regenerative capacity.

Article (6) — Prevention principle

Preventing environmental damage takes priority over addressing its effects. Operators must adopt feasible technical and administrative measures to prevent pollution at source and select lower-impact alternatives where technically and economically practicable.

Article (7) — Precautionary principle

Where a reasonable risk of serious or irreversible environmental harm exists, lack of complete scientific certainty shall not justify delaying proportionate preventive measures. Measures shall be reviewed as new scientific information emerges.

Article (8) — Polluter-pays principle

A person causing pollution or environmental damage shall bear prevention, control, monitoring, removal, restoration and compensation costs under this Law. The Treasury shall bear them only in urgent necessity or where the responsible person cannot be identified, retaining recourse once identified.

Article (9) — No pollution shifting

Transferring pollution between environmental media or areas without reducing its overall impact is not compliance. Materials’, products’ and projects’ life cycles shall be considered when determining environmental measures.

Article (10) — Intergenerational equity

Natural resources and ecosystems shall be managed to preserve their capacity to serve present and future generations. Environmental assessments and decisions shall consider long-term and cumulative effects.

Article (11) — Environmental justice

Environmental decisions shall consider groups and areas most exposed to pollution or climate risks; environmental burdens may not be unjustifiably concentrated on particular communities. Children’s, older persons’, persons with disabilities’, low-income persons’ and highly exposed workers’ needs shall be considered.

Article (12) — Scientific basis

Standards, permits and environmental management plans shall rest on the best available scientific and technical knowledge, documenting assumptions and uncertainty. The Ministry may draw on universities, research centres, accredited laboratories and independent expertise.

Article (13) — Policy integration

Federal bodies shall integrate environmental protection, climate action and biodiversity conservation into policies, plans, budgets and investments within their respective responsibilities, minimising conflict between economic, social and environmental objectives.

Article (14) — Non-regression in protection

Where applicable sectoral or local legislation or contractual conditions provide protection above this Law’s minimum, the higher level applies within constitutional competence. This Law shall not be interpreted as authorising environmental harm or exempting civil, criminal or administrative liability under other legislation.

Chapter Two — Governance, institutions and coordination

Article (15) — Ministry functions

The Ministry shall propose federal environmental policy, prepare national standards and guidance, issue permits within its competence, conduct oversight and inspection, manage monitoring and information systems, coordinate climate, biodiversity and multilateral environmental agreements, and report periodically to the Council of Ministers and Council of Representatives.

Article (16) — Environmental Protection, Climate Action and Biodiversity Council

The existing Environmental Protection and Improvement Council shall become a national coordination council chaired by the Minister with authorised representatives of relevant federal bodies. Regions and governorates shall participate through constitutional coordination mechanisms. The Council shall neither operate projects nor replace competent ministries.

Article (17) — Council functions

The Council shall approve draft environmental policies and strategies before submission to the Council of Ministers, resolve overlapping federal implementation responsibilities, review environment, climate and biodiversity reports, monitor Iraq’s international commitments and propose Environmental Protection Fund spending priorities.

Article (18) — Standing technical committees

The Council shall establish standing technical committees at least for climate action, biodiversity, air quality, water and soil quality, environmental assessment, and chemicals and hazardous pollutants, incorporating necessary government and scientific expertise without administrative expansion.

Article (19) — Governorate environmental councils

Each governorate not incorporated into a region shall have an environmental coordination committee or council linked to the governor, monitoring local implementation, data exchange, emergency plans and joint oversight. Regulations shall determine membership, meeting frequency and publication of minutes and decisions.

Article (20) — Coordination with regions

The federal and regional governments shall establish regular coordination on environmental and climate policies and biodiversity, particularly impacts crossing administrative boundaries, shared monitoring, international communications and ecologically connected protected areas, without prejudicing each governmental level’s jurisdiction.

Article (21) — Sectoral authorities

The Ministries of Oil, Electricity, Industry and Minerals, Agriculture, Water Resources, Transport, Construction, Housing and Municipalities, Health, Planning and Interior, and other relevant bodies shall integrate environmental requirements into their work, appoint qualified environmental focal points and execute compliance orders within their powers.

Article (22) — Environmental police

The environmental police formation within the Ministry of Interior shall continue and be strengthened as a support and enforcement body. It shall execute closure and seizure orders, prepare field reports, secure inspectors and protect environmental sites and evidence under law. It shall not replace the Ministry’s technical competence or judicial authority.

Article (23) — Judicial specialisation

Depending on case volume and distribution, the Supreme Judicial Council may designate judges or panels for environmental, climate and biodiversity-crime cases and develop specialist training in scientific evidence, damage assessment and ecological restoration.

Article (24) — Scientific advisory committee

The Ministry shall establish a scientifically independent advisory committee covering environment, climate, health, economics, engineering, law and biology. It shall provide non-binding opinions on standards and scientifically complex matters, publishing summaries unless legally barred.

Article (25) — Conflicts of interest

A person involved in preparing a project’s environmental impact study may not participate as an impartial monitor or expert in its regulatory decision. Committee members and experts shall disclose relevant direct financial or professional interests.

Article (26) — Capacity building

The Ministry shall periodically plan capacity development for inspectors, laboratories, environmental police, local bodies and assessment, climate and biodiversity staff, with continuing training and professional testing for sensitive technical roles.

Article (27) — Annual parliamentary report

The Minister shall submit a public annual report to the Council of Ministers and Council of Representatives covering implementation, compliance, major measures, air, water and soil quality, climate and biodiversity commitments and Fund performance, identifying data methodology limitations.

Chapter Three — Environmental rights, information and participation

Article (28) — Right to environmental information

Everyone may request and obtain environmental information held by public bodies under law, including air, water and soil quality, emissions, permits, impact studies and pollution incidents, subject to specific exceptions protecting national security, privacy and legitimate commercial secrets.

Article (29) — Proactive disclosure

Without a request, the Ministry and competent bodies shall publish basic monitoring data, final environmental permits, impact-study summaries, compliance orders, serious environmental incidents and annual reports in searchable, reusable formats wherever possible.

Article (30) — Confidentiality limits

Commercial confidentiality shall not cover emissions or discharge data or information essential to protecting health and the environment against serious risk. Only protected portions shall be withheld, not entire documents; withholding decisions must be reasoned and open to grievance and appeal.

Article (31) — Public participation

The competent body shall ensure early, effective public participation in environmentally significant decisions, allowing appropriate time for review and comment before decision and explaining how substantive comments were addressed.

Article (32) — Hearings

Public hearings are mandatory for high-impact projects and plans or programmes likely to have extensive or cumulative environmental effects. They may be in person or electronic, with suitable arrangements for digitally excluded communities.

Article (33) — Complaints and reports

The Ministry shall establish a unified channel receiving and tracking environmental complaints and reports, identifying severity, competent authority and estimated response time. Reporter identity is not required where facts can be verified otherwise.

Article (34) — Protecting whistleblowers and environmental defenders

Employment or contractual retaliation, threats and harassment for good-faith reporting of environmental violations or lawful participation in public or judicial proceedings are prohibited. Applicable general protection and disclosure rules apply without prejudicing defence rights.

Article (35) — Right to a grievance

Any interested person may challenge environmental decisions before the body designated by regulations within statutory periods. Grievance decisions must be reasoned; grievances do not prevent recourse to the competent court under applicable rules.

Article (36) — Standing in the public environmental interest

Registered environmental associations with actual activity for a period prescribed by regulations may seek suspension of a decision or activity on serious evidence of imminent severe environmental harm. The competent court shall determine the application under urgency, interest and prevention-of-abuse requirements.

Article (37) — Environmental education

The Ministries of Environment, Education and Higher Education and public media bodies shall support environmental and climate knowledge and responsible behaviour, respecting curricular and university independence and avoiding political or commercial propaganda.

Chapter Four — Planning, monitoring and strategic assessment

Article (38) — Environmental protection strategy

The Ministry shall prepare a national environmental protection strategy lasting no more than seven years, identifying priority problems, intended outcomes, indicators and responsibilities, with a mid-term review. It shall coordinate with development, water, energy, transport, urban and health plans.

Article (39) — State of the environment report

Every two years, the Ministry shall issue a national state of the environment report using a published methodology, describing air, water, soil, desertification, biodiversity, climate-risk, industrial pollution and noise trends, explicitly identifying data gaps.

Article (40) — National monitoring system

The Ministry shall coordinate a national environmental monitoring network combining federal, governorate, accredited laboratory and monitoring-station data, defining quality-assurance, calibration, verification and sample chain-of-custody standards.

Article (41) — Emissions and pollutants register

A national pollutant release and transfer register shall be established. Installations exceeding regulatory thresholds must report annually on releases to air, water and soil and substances transferred for treatment or disposal. The register shall be public, protecting lawfully withheld data.

Article (42) — Environmental indicators

The Council shall adopt a limited national set of environmental, climate and biodiversity indicators with baseline year, data source, measurement unit and update frequency, minimising duplication between bodies.

Article (43) — Strategic environmental assessment

Government policies, plans and programmes likely to have significant environmental effects shall undergo strategic environmental assessment before approval, covering alternatives, cumulative and climate impacts, biodiversity and consistency with resource limits.

Article (44) — Scope of strategic assessment

Regulations shall specify sectors and thresholds requiring strategic assessment, including land use, transport, energy, industry, agriculture, tourism, major infrastructure and basin-management plans. Minor amendments may be exempted by reasoned decision.

Article (45) — Strategic assessment consultation

The plan-preparing body shall consult the Ministry, sectoral authorities and affected public during scoping and before final approval, publishing a summary of the selected option and reasons for rejecting principal alternatives.

Article (46) — Environmental screening of public investment

Public investment appraisal shall include early environmental and climate-risk screening before budget inclusion or final contractual commitment, proportionate to project scale and risk.

Article (47) — Climate risks to public assets

Owners of critical public assets and infrastructure shall incorporate reasonable climate risks into design, rehabilitation and maintenance, particularly extreme heat, drought, floods, dust storms and water scarcity, under sectoral codes and standards.

Article (48) — Open data and interoperability

Government environmental data shall be exchanged using unified interoperability standards, avoiding repeated requests for the same establishment data where held by an official body and legally reliable.

Article (49) — Research and community monitoring

The Ministry may adopt community or university monitoring programmes as supporting warning and verification sources. Their data alone shall not replace official measurements required for penalties unless technically verified under approved procedures.

Chapter Five — Environmental impact assessment and licensing

Article (50) — No commencement without environmental approval

A project or activity subject to environmental assessment may not be established, expanded or substantially altered without the required environmental approval or permit. Investment approval, land allocation or sectoral licensing does not waive this obligation.

Article (51) — Project classification

Projects shall be categorised by impact nature, scale, location and surrounding environmental sensitivity. Regulations shall define each category’s requirements, ensuring risk-proportionate assessment and avoiding unnecessary procedures for negligible-impact activities.

Article (52) — Preliminary screening

The competent authority shall screen project description, location, resource use, emissions, risks and cumulative impacts, issuing a reasoned decision on the required study level or conditional exemption.

Article (53) — Study scoping

For high-impact projects, the Ministry shall determine the study’s scope before preparation, including reasonable alternatives, baseline, sensitive environmental receptors, cumulative and transboundary impacts, and climate, biodiversity and health risks where appropriate.

Article (54) — Impact-study contents

The study shall describe the project and alternatives, including no implementation; a verifiable baseline; impact sources; predicted direct, indirect and cumulative effects; avoidance, minimisation and restoration measures; management, monitoring, emergency and closure plans; and a non-technical summary.

Article (55) — Study preparer independence

A qualified body or team registered with the Ministry must prepare the study. The developer remains responsible for supplied data accuracy; the preparer must disclose its financial relationship with the project and follow professional standards. Instructions shall govern accreditation suspension or revocation.

Article (56) — Baseline quality

Current, seasonally representative data shall be used where site conditions require. Necessary measurements may not be replaced by geographically remote general data. Each dataset’s source, limitations and collection method must be stated.

Article (57) — Alternatives assessment

The study shall not merely mitigate the selected design but compare in an auditable manner reasonable location, technology, scale and timing alternatives, explaining the final choice.

Article (58) — Cumulative effects

Major projects shall assess their effects alongside existing and approved projects and known local environmental pressures. An integrated project may not be divided into smaller parts to avoid more rigorous assessment.

Article (59) — Health and climate assessment

High-impact studies shall analyse public-health risks, greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks to the project and surroundings where material, with detail proportionate to the project’s nature.

Article (60) — Biodiversity assessment

Where a project may affect sensitive habitats, threatened species, protected areas or ecological corridors, the hierarchy of avoidance, minimisation and restoration shall apply. Offsetting residual impacts is permitted only after proving avoidance infeasible, subject to no-net-loss conditions wherever measurable.

Article (61) — Participation in impact studies

A non-technical version of high-impact studies shall be published with at least thirty days for comments. The period may be shortened in legally defined emergencies by reasoned decision, ensuring minimum disclosure.

Article (62) — Approval decision

Environmental approval must be written and reasoned, specifying operating, monitoring and reporting conditions, financial guarantees and any closure plan, and material public-participation findings. A project may be refused if risks remain unacceptable after mitigation.

Article (63) — Approval duration and project changes

Approval shall set a commencement period and lapse if work does not begin within it unless extended under applicable rules. Any material change in capacity, technology, fuel, location or discharges shall be referred to the Ministry to determine whether permit amendment or reassessment is required.

Chapter Six — Pollution standards and integrated environmental permits

Article (64) — Environmental standards

National air, water, soil, noise, emission and discharge standards shall be issued through regulations or instructions based on scientific evidence, health and environmental risks and technical capacity, and reviewed periodically. Stricter limits may apply to degraded or sensitive areas under a published plan.

Article (65) — Integrated environmental permits

Installations with significant impacts require integrated environmental permits consolidating emission, discharge, hazardous-material management, monitoring, emergency and closure conditions within the Ministry’s competence, while other legally required sectoral licences remain necessary.

Article (66) — Best available techniques

Permit conditions shall consider best available techniques and good environmental practices suited to the sector and Iraqi conditions, balancing environmental reductions against technical and economic costs without accepting serious health or environmental risks.

Article (67) — Ambient air quality limits

In coordination with the Ministry of Health and competent bodies, the Ministry shall establish ambient air standards and plans for non-compliant areas. Monitoring shall cover priority pollutants and major sources; air-quality indicators shall be published accessibly.

Article (68) — Industrial emissions

Industrial, petroleum, energy and thermal installations shall meet emission limits, undertake continuous or periodic risk-based monitoring and maintain pollution-control equipment. Deliberately disabling such systems while operating constitutes an aggravated violation.

Article (69) — Water and soil protection

Discharging pollutants into surface water, groundwater or soil is prohibited except under permits and quality limits consistent with water-resource and wastewater-service laws. The responsible person must immediately stop leaks and prevent their spread.

Article (70) — Agricultural and diffuse pollution

The Ministry and the Ministries of Agriculture and Water Resources shall identify areas vulnerable to diffuse pollution and establish mandatory or advisory codes for prudent fertiliser and pesticide use and watercourse and groundwater protection. Regulations shall identify cases requiring mandatory measures.

Article (71) — Noise and vibration

National noise and vibration limits shall apply by land use and time period. Polluting activities must use suitable barriers and operating measures, coordinated with noise-control and urban-planning legislation.

Article (72) — Light, thermal and odour pollution

The Ministry may establish standards or requirements for light, heat and odours affecting health, the environment or wildlife, considering the area’s character and uses.

Article (73) — Open burning

Open burning of waste and materials producing hazardous emissions is prohibited except where specialist legislation permits it for health, veterinary or emergency reasons under competent supervision. Waste is regulated in detail by its own law.

Article (74) — Chemicals

In coordination with sectoral bodies, the Ministry shall prepare a national register of priority chemicals and procedures reducing environmental risks, respecting health, agriculture, industry, labour, transport and applicable international obligations.

Article (75) — Preventing deterioration in sensitive areas

Sensitive or degraded areas may be designated for additional temporary or permanent emission and resource-use conditions following scientific study and consultation with local authorities and affected persons. Designations shall be periodically reassessed.

Article (76) — Environmental incidents

Operators must immediately notify the Ministry, Civil Defence and sectoral authority of any accident, leak or uncontrolled release likely to cause serious harm, contain it, protect residents and not conceal response-critical information.

Article (77) — Emergency plans

High-risk installations require environmental emergency plans coordinated with Civil Defence, the governorate and health authorities, covering incident scenarios, response responsibilities, containment equipment, notification, training and regular exercises.

Article (78) — Transboundary pollution

Where an Iraqi incident or activity may cause significant international transboundary effects, competent federal bodies shall notify and cooperate under applicable agreements and good-neighbourliness principles, protecting Iraq’s sovereign and security interests.

Chapter Seven — Climate action

Article (79) — National climate action framework

The Ministry shall coordinate national climate policy and prepare the mitigation, adaptation and transparency framework with ministries, governorates and regions under constitutional competence, consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention, Paris Agreement and decisions applicable to Iraq.

Article (80) — Nationally determined contributions

The government shall prepare and update nationally determined contributions by international deadlines, using verifiable national data and sectoral and public consultation. The Council of Ministers shall approve them before deposit with the Convention secretariat. Unconditional and international-support-conditional components and means of implementation must be specified.

Article (81) — Implementing the national contribution

Sectoral bodies shall prepare contribution implementation plans specifying responsibilities, schedules, funding and indicators, integrating them into plans and budgets within available resources. The Ministry shall publish annual progress reports.

Article (82) — Greenhouse gas inventory

The Ministry shall operate a national greenhouse gas inventory under internationally approved methodologies. Covered public bodies and installations must supply activity and emissions data in prescribed formats and timeframes, with quality-assurance and verification procedures.

Article (83) — Measurement, reporting and verification

A unified system shall measure, report and verify mitigation actions, support and results, setting standards for independent verifier accreditation, record retention and preventing double counting of reductions.

Article (84) — National adaptation plan

The government shall prepare and periodically review a national adaptation plan identifying priority risks, vulnerable sectors and areas, resilience measures, monitoring indicators and funding, covering water, agriculture, health, cities, infrastructure and ecosystems.

Article (85) — Local adaptation plans

Governorates shall prepare risk-based local adaptation plans with the Ministry and sectoral authorities. Plans may cover groups of governorates, basins or ecological regions where risks interconnect.

Article (86) — Climate-risk assessment

Public bodies shall use a unified methodology for assessing exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity, updating maps and data periodically. Findings shall prioritise investment, maintenance and emergencies; indicators alone may not deny an area basic services.

Article (87) — Infrastructure resilience

New major infrastructure shall undergo climate-resilience review over its design life. Developers must demonstrate consideration of appropriate climate scenarios, failure probabilities and lower whole-life-cost alternatives.

Article (88) — Extreme heat management

The Ministries of Environment, Health, Labour and Interior and local bodies shall coordinate heatwave plans, early warning, protection of workers and vulnerable groups, and continuity of vital services within sectoral legal powers.

Article (89) — Drought and dust storms

Adaptation plans shall reduce drought, desertification, land degradation and dust-storm impacts, prioritising degradation sources, land and water management and ecologically suitable vegetation belts, avoiding poorly planned planting campaigns that deplete water resources.

Article (90) — Nature-based solutions

Nature-based adaptation and risk reduction may be adopted where environmentally and socially suitable, including marshland, wetland, soil and green-corridor restoration, protecting residents’ rights and water resources and prohibiting invasive species.

Article (91) — Long-term strategy

The government shall prepare a long-term low-emissions development strategy identifying feasible transition pathways and economic, social and fiscal impacts. It shall not contain binding targets unapproved by law or competent authority decision.

Article (92) — Just transition

Emissions policies shall consider employment, income and carbon-intensive areas, coordinating with training, social protection and economic diversification without creating financial entitlements outside budget legislation.

Article (93) — Climate finance

The Ministries of Finance, Planning and Environment shall coordinate tracking of public climate finance and international grants and loans. Projects funded in Iraq’s name must meet integrity, transparency and prior fiscal and environmental appraisal standards. International obligations or financial guarantees may be accepted only under law.

Article (94) — Paris Agreement Article Six mechanisms

Mitigation outcomes for international use may not be authorised or transferred in the Republic of Iraq’s name without approval by the nationally authorised body under specific regulations, after verifying measurement integrity, preventing double counting and protecting national interests and environmental and social rights.

Article (95) — National carbon registry

The Ministry shall establish an electronic national registry of activities and outcomes approved for carbon markets or international cooperation, recording ownership, transfer, cancellation, use and required corresponding accounting adjustments. Registration alone creates no permanent financial right in a public resource.

Article (96) — Loss and damage

With competent bodies, the Ministry shall maintain a national database of loss and damage from slow-onset and sudden climate events, using a methodology preventing double counting and supporting planning and international finance requests. It creates no automatic entitlement to Treasury compensation.

Chapter Eight — Biodiversity, ecosystems and protected areas

Article (97) — National biodiversity policy

With competent bodies, the Ministry shall prepare a national biodiversity strategy and periodic action plan consistent with the Convention on Biological Diversity and applicable global framework, identifying national priorities, measurable targets, data sources and responsibilities.

Article (98) — National biodiversity register

A national register shall cover biodiversity, habitats, ecosystems and significant areas, updated using scientific surveys and university, protected-area and competent-body data. Access levels shall protect sensitive information whose publication could threaten species or sites.

Article (99) — National species list

The Ministry shall adopt periodically reviewed lists of threatened, protected or conservation-priority species under published scientific criteria. Listing triggers protection proportionate to risk and distribution.

Article (100) — Critical habitat protection

Intentional destruction of threatened species’ critical habitats or areas with unique ecological functions is prohibited except for exceptional public necessity, after alternatives assessment and stringent restoration or offsetting conditions.

Article (101) — Nature reserves

Existing regulations shall continue governing reserve establishment and management until replaced or amended under this Law. Each designation must state boundaries, objectives, protection and management arrangements, permitted activities, existing rights and local participation mechanisms.

Article (102) — Reserve management plans

Every reserve shall have a scientifically based management plan defining protection and use zones, oversight, habitat restoration and appropriate ecotourism, reviewed periodically with local communities and stakeholders.

Article (103) — Ecological corridors

Corridors may connect habitats and protected areas to reduce fragmentation and enable species movement, informing urban, transport and energy planning. Designation does not entail expropriation except under law with fair compensation.

Article (104) — Marshes and wetlands

High-value marshes and wetlands receive special protection against drainage, pollution and unjustified fragmentation. Management shall coordinate with water, agriculture and heritage laws and Iraq’s applicable international obligations.

Article (105) — River systems and banks

Assessment and planning shall consider rivers’, streams’, banks’ and floodplains’ ecological functions. Activities causing unjustified serious aquatic habitat deterioration or obstructing restoration are prohibited, subject to water management and flood-safety requirements.

Article (106) — Agricultural biodiversity

The Ministry and Ministry of Agriculture shall protect agricultural genetic diversity, local varieties, pollinators and rangelands and encourage practices reducing soil degradation and habitat loss, without prejudicing seed, agricultural quarantine or plant-health laws.

Article (107) — Wildlife and hunting

Hunting, capturing, killing or trading protected species or destroying their nests or breeding habitats contrary to law and prescribed licences is prohibited. Security, customs and environmental bodies shall cooperate against illegal trade.

Article (108) — International species trade

Competent authorities shall implement Iraq’s applicable international threatened-species trade obligations and harmonise permits, certificates, border checks and data exchange to prevent laundering illegally sourced specimens or products.

Article (109) — Ecosystem restoration

The Ministry and relevant bodies shall set national restoration priorities based on site value, feasibility, available water and climate and social benefits. Restoration must focus on ecological functions rather than merely increasing tree numbers.

Article (110) — Tree planting and cultivation

Public planting programmes must select species suited to climate, water, soil and local biodiversity, with measurable maintenance and survival plans. Invasive species, water-depleting programmes and replacement of valuable natural non-forest ecosystems are prohibited.

Article (111) — Desertification and land degradation

The Ministry, Ministries of Agriculture and Water Resources and local bodies shall coordinate desertification and land-degradation measures, dune stabilisation and rangeland management. Plans shall use updated risk maps and assess effects on water, soil and communities.

Article (112) — Invasive alien species

The Ministry shall establish a national priority invasive-alien-species list and prevention, early-detection, response and control system, coordinated with agricultural and veterinary quarantine, customs and border authorities. Listed species may not be introduced without special authorisation.

Article (113) — Species reintroduction

Wild species may be released or reintroduced for conservation only after scientific assessment of genetic, disease and environmental risks and habitat suitability, with subsequent monitoring plans.

Article (114) — Biodiversity in public decisions

Sectoral authorities shall assess policy and project effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services within environmental and strategic assessments, particularly urban planning, transport, energy, water, agriculture, mining and tourism.

Chapter Nine — Genetic resources and biosafety

Article (115) — Access to genetic resources

Genetic resources may be collected from natural environments for commercial research, development or export only under competent authorisation, coordinated where appropriate with the landowner or lawful rights holder, specifying purpose, quantity and transfer and preservation conditions.

Article (116) — Benefit sharing

Commercial-use permits shall include fair, transparent monetary or non-monetary benefit-sharing conditions for genetic-resource use under regulations, without assuming an international obligation the Republic of Iraq has not joined.

Article (117) — Traditional knowledge

Traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources and local environmental practices shall be respected. It may not be appropriated, attributed or commercially used unlawfully or without regard to its holders’ legal rights.

Article (118) — Non-commercial research

Permitting for non-commercial academic research and limited sample collection shall be simplified. Researchers must document provenance, make scientific deposits where appropriate and obtain new approval before converting to commercial use.

Article (119) — Sample transfers outside Iraq

Export of genetic or biological samples of national value or protected species requires prior approval and conditions covering purpose, intellectual property, return of samples or data, or sharing results, respecting antiquities, health, agriculture and customs laws.

Article (120) — Biosafety

Existing biosafety regulations shall continue. The Ministry shall coordinate implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, including living modified organism risk assessment, notification, handling, transport, use and environmental release.

Article (121) — Modified organism risk assessment

Intentional environmental release of living modified organisms requires prior scientific biodiversity and health-risk assessment under sectoral competences, with management, monitoring and unexpected-impact response measures.

Article (122) — Biosafety incident notification

Licensees must immediately report unintended releases or loss of control over regulated material or organisms and take urgent containment, recovery and remediation measures.

Article (123) — Traceability and records

Licensed bodies shall retain provenance, receipt, transfer and use records for regulated samples and organisms for the regulatory period, making them available to competent supervisors.

Article (124) — Intellectual property coordination

Genetic-resource and associated-knowledge rules shall align with intellectual property law and Iraq’s international obligations, preventing private rights over unlawfully collected or used resources where law permits objection or invalidation.

Chapter Ten — Inspection, compliance, liability and penalties

Article (125) — Environmental inspector status

The Minister shall confer environmental inspector status on qualified technical staff under law. Inspectors must carry identification and defined authorisation, maintaining impartiality, professional confidentiality and evidence-chain integrity.

Article (126) — Inspection powers

Within the law, inspectors may enter activity sites during working hours or emergencies, examine records, take samples, measurements and photographs, and request necessary data. Residential premises or places requiring judicial permission may be entered only through lawful procedures.

Article (127) — Risk-based inspection plans

The Ministry shall prepare annual inspection plans prioritising high-risk installations, violation histories, degraded areas and incidents, retaining a proportion of unannounced visits and report verification.

Article (128) — Inspection reports

Inspectors shall record visit findings, samples and violations in signed reports, supplying operators a copy or electronic notification. Operators may record observations and objections without obstructing emergency measures.

Article (129) — Corrective orders

The Ministry may issue reasoned orders to remove violations or take specified measures within risk-proportionate periods, stating legal grounds, grievance avenues and non-compliance consequences.

Article (130) — Activity suspension

Where an activity causes or threatens serious imminent harm, the Minister or delegate may suspend the dangerous portion or temporarily close the installation until the cause is removed. Measures must be proportionate, reasoned and judicially challengeable.

Article (131) — Urgent measures

For serious incidents, the Ministry, Civil Defence and competent bodies may contain, evacuate, warn or remove the source at the responsible person’s expense once responsibility is established, without awaiting ordinary violation procedures.

Article (132) — Environmental damage liability

A person causing damage through fault, negligence, violation or a hazardous activity under their control must prevent its spread, remove it, restore the environment and pay prescribed costs and compensation. Enhanced liability for hazardous activities shall be defined by regulations or sectoral legislation.

Article (133) — Restoration priority

Restoring environmental conditions or ecosystem functions shall be the first measure where feasible. If full restoration is impossible, complementary or compensatory restoration at another related site shall precede purely monetary compensation.

Article (134) — Damage assessment

The Ministry or legally appointed expert shall assess damage by affected area, duration, pollutant hazard, removal and restoration costs, lost ecosystem services and site ecological value. A public methodology shall prevent arbitrary valuation.

Article (135) — Multiple responsible persons

Where several persons contribute to one harm and precise shares cannot be determined, lawful joint and several liability rules apply, with recourse among them according to their contributions.

Article (136) — False disclosure and obstruction

Deliberately falsified environmental data, monitoring-equipment tampering, misleading sampling or forcefully or threateningly obstructing an inspector constitutes an aggravated violation. Lawful objection or requests for judicial orders are excluded.

Article (137) — Administrative penalties

Without prejudice to criminal penalties, warnings, corrective plans, administrative fines, permit suspension or revocation may be imposed according to seriousness, repetition, benefit obtained and cooperation in remediation. Fine schedules and updating mechanisms shall be set by regulations within statutory limits.

Article (138) — Administrative fine limits

Depending on classification, legal persons’ administrative fines range from five million to two hundred and fifty million dinars. Continuing violations after the corrective deadline may incur daily fines no greater than five million dinars. Payment does not remove obligations to repair damage or bear its costs.

Article (139) — Serious environmental crimes

Under the Penal Code or special provisions, punishment applies to deliberate hazardous releases seriously endangering lives or significant ecosystems, organised protected-species trafficking, or falsified monitoring concealing serious risks. Courts shall determine sentences within prescribed limits, considering outcome, intent and repetition.

Article (140) — Legal person liability

Proceedings against a legal person do not preclude liability of a natural person who ordered, approved or facilitated conduct where liability elements exist. In serious crimes, courts may order publication of judgment summaries, licence suspension or additional compliance measures.

Article (141) — Confiscation and removal

Courts may confiscate criminal proceeds, materials and instruments used principally in committing offences, unless owned by good-faith third parties, and order removal of violation effects and ecological restoration at the convicted person’s expense.

Article (142) — Limitation and latent damage

Periods for claiming restoration costs or compensation for latent environmental damage begin when the damage and responsible person are discovered or reasonably could have been discovered, subject to applicable limitation rules.

Article (143) — Administrative settlements

For non-serious violations, the Ministry may conclude written settlements admitting facts, establishing corrective plans and performance guarantees, and setting the fine due. Settlements are prohibited for serious crimes or harm beyond administrative remediation.

Article (144) — Compliance register

The Ministry shall maintain an installation register of permit histories, final violations, corrective and closure orders and penalties, informing inspection levels, renewal conditions and public procurement where legally permitted.

Chapter Eleven — Environmental Protection Fund and economic instruments

Article (145) — Continuation of the Environmental Protection Fund

The existing Environmental Protection Fund shall continue, with rights, liabilities and balances transferred to it. Its purposes shall encompass environmental protection, climate action, ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation, without a parallel fund.

Article (146) — Fund management

A board chaired by a Ministry representative, with Finance, Planning and relevant-body representatives and two independent experts, shall administer the Fund under regulations. Spending shall follow published criteria and Federal Board of Supreme Audit oversight.

Article (147) — Fund resources

Resources comprise budget appropriations, environmental compensation, legally permitted service charges, lawfully accepted grants and donations, a share of administrative fines where budget or financial legislation provides, and other legally established resources.

Article (148) — Expenditure purposes

Spending shall address emergency pollution, restoration where responsible persons cannot be identified, monitoring and laboratories, protected areas, restoration, adaptation, capacity and environmental information. Unrelated expenditure is prohibited.

Article (149) — Funding priorities

Priority goes to the greatest health or environmental harm, most vulnerable areas and interventions preventing greater damage at lower cost. Funded projects, amounts and expected and achieved results shall be published, subject to lawful confidentiality.

Article (150) — Economic instruments

Charges, incentives, refundable deposits or market instruments may be proposed for specific pollution. Obligations constituting taxes or fees require legislation; each instrument requires impact assessment of purpose, fairness and administrative cost.

Article (151) — Financial guarantees

High-risk activities or those requiring costly closure and restoration may require financial security, insurance or guarantees, calculated against the worst reasonably foreseeable remediation cost. These do not replace environmental liability.

Article (152) — Public procurement and finance

Public bodies may incorporate environmental performance and life-cycle criteria in procurement and Treasury-funded projects, ensuring competition and value for money without unjustified discrimination or technically unsupported competition restrictions.

Chapter Twelve — Transitional and final provisions

Article (153) — Existing permits

Approvals and permits valid at commencement remain effective until expiry unless serious risk requires immediate amendment. Renewal shall follow this Law and its regulations.

Article (154) — Existing installations’ compliance

Existing installations receive no more than twenty-four months to meet new requirements involving substantial investment; high-risk activities may receive shorter periods. No grace period permits continuing serious or imminent danger.

Article (155) — Existing regulations and instructions

Existing environmental regulations, instructions and rules remain effective insofar as consistent until amended, repealed or replaced, particularly nature-reserve, biosafety, emissions and environmental-assessment rules.

Article (156) — Repeal of the former law

Environmental Protection and Improvement Law No. (27) of 2009 is repealed upon commencement. Rights, obligations and decisions acquired under it continue unless inconsistent with this Law.

Article (157) — Related legislation review

Within eighteen months, on proposals from the Ministry and competent bodies, the Council of Ministers shall refer necessary sectoral alignment amendments, avoiding duplication of water, waste, energy, mining, urban planning and health legislation.

Article (158) — Regulations and instructions

The Council of Ministers may issue implementing regulations; the Minister may issue instructions and technical rules within competence. Technical drafts affecting the public shall be published for consultation unless urgency justifies otherwise.

Article (159) — Legislative review

Five years after commencement, the government shall evaluate enforcement effectiveness, costs, environmental and climate results and overlapping competences, reporting to the Council of Representatives with any proposed amendments.

Article (160) — Entry into force

This Law enters into force ninety days after publication in the Official Gazette, except provisions requiring regulations or transitional periods, which apply on their specified dates.

Statement of reasons

This Law is enacted to guarantee the constitutional right to sound environmental conditions, develop pollution-prevention and remediation tools, modernise impact assessment, permits, oversight and environmental liability, establish an integrated legal basis for Iraq’s climate and biodiversity commitments, protect natural resources and public health, and improve coordination between authorities and sectoral bodies.

Explanatory memorandum

1. Why does Iraq need to replace its general environmental law?

Law No. (27) of 2009 provided an important environmental foundation and institutions that remain valuable, including the Environmental Protection and Improvement Council and Environmental Protection Fund. It established environmental damage liability and warning, closure and fine mechanisms. The issue is not that all its provisions are obsolete, but that risks and regulatory obligations have expanded: climate change now shapes national planning and international finance; Iraq has joined the Paris Agreement; climate transparency and inventories have become more detailed; biodiversity has a new global framework; and modern oversight relies on digital disclosure, pollutant registers, strategic assessment, cumulative effects and linking permits to inspection.

The bill therefore adopts ‘replacement with continuity’: it replaces the former general law without dismantling functioning regulations or institutions. The Fund and environmental police continue, while non-conflicting reserve, biosafety and emissions rules remain until updated. This reduces regulatory gaps and administrative costs.

2. Constitutional competence

The central legal design constraint is that environmental policymaking is shared, not exclusively federal, under Article (114/Third) of the Constitution. The bill does not assume that the federal Ministry can override regional legislation or directly manage every local issue. It instead defines federal functions: international obligations, national data and inventories, transboundary matters, coordination, minimum standards within competence and oversight of activities legally subject to federal authority, with regional coordination mechanisms.

3. From separate permits to integrated impact management

The bill addresses a common weakness of older legislation: examining each pollutant or permit separately. Integrated permitting considers an installation’s overall effects, preventing reductions in air emissions from merely shifting pollutants to wastewater or soil. It also requires alternatives and cumulative-impact assessment and prohibits splitting projects to evade more rigorous review.

4. Strategic environmental assessment

Traditional impact assessment often follows site selection and policy direction, when genuine alternatives are limited. Strategic assessment precedes this, covering major land-use, energy and transport plans and programmes, allowing comparison before difficult-to-reverse financial and spatial commitments. The bill does not subject every minor administrative decision to this procedure; regulations determine thresholds and categories.

5. Climate action: from international commitment to an accountable domestic cycle

Iraq joined the Paris Agreement through Accession Law No. (31) of 2020, with international ratification recorded in 2021. On 13 November 2025, the UN Framework Convention secretariat registered Iraq’s NDC 3.0 as active. It specifies an unconditional 3% target by 2030 against business as usual, up to 5% unconditional by 2035 and up to 17% conditional by 2035, totalling 22% conditional and unconditional ambition.

The Law does not turn these percentages into direct sector or installation penalties: a national contribution is a state instrument requiring sectoral implementation, finance and data. It instead mandates an institutional cycle: NDC preparation and approval, sectoral implementation plans, national inventory, measurement, reporting and verification, progress reporting and national adaptation planning. This remains useful when later contributions change the percentages.

6. Adaptation as a service-security priority

Ministry of Environment documents show that Iraq’s national adaptation plan sought a strategic framework through 2035 and that local work covered several governorates. The bill accordingly gives adaptation equal weight to mitigation: risk assessment, local plans, infrastructure resilience, heatwaves, drought, dust storms and nature-based solutions. This prevents climate action becoming only a carbon issue while services and people experience direct climate impacts.

7. Article Six and carbon markets

The Paris Agreement permits international cooperation on mitigation outcomes. However, transferring reductions in the state’s name without a registry, authorisation and anti-double-counting rules may harm national interests and accounting integrity. The bill therefore requires sovereign authorisation, a national registry, measurement verification and no repeated counting of the same reduction. Carbon-project registration does not confer permanent ownership of a public resource or a government return guarantee.

8. Biodiversity: from species protection to ecosystem protection

Iraq has been party to the Convention on Biological Diversity since 2009 and the Cartagena Protocol since 2014. Beyond hunting restrictions, the bill links species protection to habitats, ecological corridors, marshes, wetlands, restoration and invasive-species control. Planting campaigns must consider water resources, local species and survival rates: tree numbers alone do not adequately measure ecological restoration.

9. Genetic resources and the Nagoya Protocol

Convention on Biological Diversity records indicate that Iraq is not a party to the Nagoya Protocol on genetic-resource access and benefit sharing as of this document’s date. The bill therefore attributes no inapplicable obligations to Iraq. Domestic law may nevertheless regulate genetic-resource collection, transfer and commercial use and establish benefit sharing, a legitimate domestic protection independent of any future accession decision.

10. Environmental liability and restoration

The bill retains a strong principle from the 2009 law: those causing damage must remove it and restore conditions. It develops a restoration hierarchy prioritising actual ecosystem repair over monetary compensation alone. Where full repair is impossible, impact-related complementary or compensatory restoration follows, then monetary compensation under a public methodology. This reduces the risk of violations becoming merely a budgeted operating cost.

11. Proportionate penalties

Former fine limits alone no longer suit a sector spanning small installations and major industrial and petroleum complexes. The bill combines tools, prioritising correction and restoration with higher fines for serious and continuing violations. Criminal penalties concern inherently serious acts, such as intentional hazardous releases creating grave danger or falsification concealing risk, while minor procedural breaches remain administrative.

12. Relationship with waste and other sectoral laws

This Law does not detail waste collection, sorting, landfills, producer responsibility or circular economy: these belong to POL-55. Nor does it repeat water allocation, drinking-water and wastewater utilities, electricity markets, oil and gas or mining rules. It applies across them through impact assessment, pollution, climate, biodiversity and liability. This division limits overexpansion of the general law and reduces conflict.

Alignment with existing legislation

Most closely related legislation and regulations
Legislation/system	Proposed relationship	Action
Environmental Protection and Improvement Law No. 27 of 2009	The current general environmental law.	Repeal and replacement, continuing non-conflicting decisions, rights and regulations.
Ministry of Environment Law No. 37 of 2008	Regulates the Ministry and its formations.	Remains effective; provisions reviewed only where organisational needs emerge after implementation.
Nature Reserves Regulation No. 2 of 2014	Provides the reserves’ implementing framework.	Continues during transition, updated to align with new biodiversity provisions.
Biosafety Regulation No. 2 of 2015	Regulates biosafety and modified organisms.	Continues, supplemented by the bill’s traceability and assessment requirements.
Emissions, noise and environmental limit legislation	Detailed technical standards.	Continues pending periodic review and alignment with integrated permits.
Water and wastewater laws	Regulate resources, services and discharges.	Environmental and assessment requirements apply alongside them without duplicating licences or data.
Proposed Waste Law POL-55	Details waste cycles, circular economy and hazardous substances.	Sectoral regulation is referred to it; this Law retains cross-cutting principles and liability.
Oil, electricity, renewable energy and mining laws	Regulate economic activities and resources.	Environmental assessment, emissions, restoration and climate requirements remain binding within competence.

Transitional provisions and implementation requirements

Proposed post-commencement timetable
Period	Action
Within 3 months	Issue organisational decisions continuing the Council, Fund and environmental police and defining transitional powers.
Within 6 months	Adopt a unified environmental classification guide, complaints and disclosure system, and review plan for existing instruments.
Within 12 months	Issue strategic assessment, integrated permit, pollutant register and environmental damage assessment regulations.
Within 18 months	Operate the data platform, climate registry and compliance register, and complete initial priority-regulation alignment.
Within 24 months	End the general maximum compliance period for installations requiring substantial investment, unless serious risk requires less time.
Every two years	Issue the national state of the environment report and update core indicators.
After 5 years	Evaluate the Law’s impact and submit a legislative report to the Council of Representatives.

Financial and implementation impact

The bill requires no new ministry or independent authority, relying on the Ministry of Environment, Council, Fund, environmental police and existing sectoral structures. New institutional costs therefore concentrate on information and monitoring systems, laboratory and inspector accreditation, pollutant and climate registries, assessment and permit procedures, and greater field inspection and response capacity.

Published data do not support a reliable national estimate of compliance costs for all installations or contaminated-site restoration, so the bill provides no hypothetical aggregate figure. Instead, it requires the Ministry and Ministries of Finance and Planning to prepare a Costed Implementation Plan within one hundred and eighty days of commencement, separating digital and laboratory establishment costs, annual operating costs, functions covered by resource reallocation and needs requiring additional funding.

Private-sector costs vary substantially by activity and present condition. Risk-based classification and transitional periods reduce uncertainty. Extensions are prohibited where an activity creates serious danger, since delayed remediation shifts costs to public health and natural resources.

The bill retains the Environmental Protection Fund rather than creating another and strengthens audit and funded-project disclosure. This can reduce administrative fragmentation and channel environmental compensation into actual restoration instead of general revenue disconnected from the damage site.

Legal compliance indicators

Indicators measuring implementation without converting the Law into an executive development plan
Area	Indicator	Frequency
Environmental assessment	Proportion of high-impact projects publishing summaries and completing participation before decision.	Annual
Compliance	Proportion of corrective orders closed after field verification and average remediation time for serious violations.	Quarterly/annual
Monitoring	Proportion of monitoring stations and laboratories meeting quality-assurance and calibration requirements.	Annual
Information	Proportion of permits and mandatory data published within legal deadlines.	Annual
Climate	Timely completion of national inventories, NDC implementation plans and transparency reports.	According to the commitment cycle
Adaptation	Proportion of sectors and governorates covered by approved risk assessments and adaptation plans.	Annual
Biodiversity	Updating lists, registers, reserve management plans and restoration indicators under the national schedule.	Annual/periodic
Fund	Proportion of funded projects publishing objectives and results and undergoing audit.	Annual

Brief international comparison

International practices adapted to Iraq’s system
Instrument	International practice	Adaptation in the bill
Environmental impact assessment	Moving from isolated project review to alternatives, cumulative impacts and public participation.	Screening, scoping, alternatives, cumulative impact, non-technical summaries and reasoned decisions.
Strategic assessment	Assessing plans and programmes before project locations are fixed.	Applies to major plans under regulatory thresholds.
Integrated permits	Preventing pollution transfers between air, water and soil.	Unified permits for high-impact installations, retaining sectoral licences.
Environmental liability	Prioritising prevention and restoration over monetary compensation.	Primary then complementary/compensatory restoration and cost recovery.
Climate governance	Framework laws connecting NDCs, inventories, adaptation and transparency.	A flexible institutional cycle without permanently fixing an emissions percentage in law.
Biodiversity	Moving beyond species protection to habitats, ecological connectivity and restoration.	A national register, reserves, corridors, critical habitats, invasive species and restoration.
Environmental information	Pollutant release and transfer registers and proactive disclosure.	An open national register with narrow confidentiality and security exceptions.

Sources and references

Electronic sources accessed: 7 October 2026. For official implementation, texts published in the Iraqi Official Gazette and official treaty records govern in the event of conflict.