Dozens of people were killed in Afghanistan, one of the world's most vulnerable countries to climate change, after heavy rains triggered flash floods that swept across drought-stricken land earlier this year. But the country is absent from the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, having been left out of such U.N. talks since the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021. Climate Change Conference...but no positive response was received," said Rouhullah Amin, head of climate adaptation at the country's National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), now run by the Taliban. In rural Afghanistan, women are responsible for fetching water for their families, an increasingly difficult task as the country struggles with drought. "Conversations with the Taliban on climate change adaptation could potentially be a confidence building measure," said Paul Klouman Bekken, Norway's charge d'affaires for Afghanistan who regularly meets Taliban officials in Kabul.

Source: The Hindu December 13, 2023 23:16 UTC