Nov 17, 2015

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a 15-point list of policy directives to address the country’s environmental needs. The Nov. 17 letter, titled “General Policies of the Environment,” was published on the leader’s website and addressed to President Hassan Rouhani, parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and head of judiciary Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani. General policies issued by the supreme leader often serve as guidelines for future policies, legislation and initiatives from the three branches of Iran’s government.

In the letter, Khamenei stressed the need to “manage climate change and environment threats such as desertification, especially dust pollution [and] drought.” A number of Iranian cities have been hit with crippling dust pollution this year. In February, public buildings in 11 cities in Khuzestan province were shut down because of dust pollution, with dust content reaching 66 times permissible levels. Most surprising of all, unprecedented dust storms hit Tehran, leading to a number of deaths.

Khamenei called for continuous monitoring and control of sources and agents of various environmental pollutants, including “adverse changes in the climate.”

One of the longer sections in the letter was on the “expansion of a green economy,” which stressed the need for developing low-carbon industry, using clean energy, promoting healthful and organic agricultural products and providing better waste management. According to the World Health Organization, a number of Iranian cities are among the most polluted in the world. To counter this, Khamenei recommended the development of public transportation systems using electricity and other energy sources that do not rely on fossil fuels, “especially in larger cities.” He called for supporting “eco-friendly investments” by granting tax breaks and eliminating some fees.

Khamenei also called for strengthening “environmental diplomacy.” The letter recommended “efforts to create and strengthen regional institutions to confront pollution” as well as “bilateral, multilateral, regional and international partnerships and targeted cooperation in the environmental field.”