As part of its hosting of academic and administrative competencies and stakeholders, the Law Department at the Alamein Institute for Graduate Studies organized a scientific symposium for the department's students on Tuesday, September 16, 2025. Dr. Jassim Abdul Aziz Al-Falahi was the guest speaker, giving a lecture entitled "Iraq: Between Yesterday's Legislation and Tomorrow's Requirements - Amending the Environmental Law as an Introduction to Climate Justice." He discussed the reality of the environment and climate in Iraq, the challenges related to water, drought, desertification, and dust storms, Iraqi environmental laws, foremost among them Environmental Law No. 27 of 2009, and the urgent need to amend it to keep pace with climate justice requirements. He also discussed Iraq's international obligations under the Paris Agreement and the United Nations conventions on climate, desertification, and biodiversity. He also discussed the role of youth in green investment, and the opportunities offered by renewable energy, recycling, and smart agriculture projects.
Dr. Al-Falahi said that amending the environmental law currently being worked on represents a fundamental step towards linking Iraqi legislation to international agreements, strengthening oversight, and empowering vulnerable groups to protection, while opening the way for the green economy and sustainable investments. He also stressed that Iraqi youth are the true green capital, announcing the Ministry of Environment's intention to take a youth delegation to participate in the World Climate Conference (COP30) scheduled to be held in Brazil in 2025, so that the voice of youth is present in international negotiations.
The lecture witnessed remarkable interaction from graduate students in the Law Department at the Alamein Institute, who posed in-depth questions about the mechanisms for implementing environmental legislation, the possibility of establishing specialized environmental courts similar to labor courts, and the role of the judiciary in enforcing laws.
