Water

The Emergency Iraq Keeps Declaring

Iraq's parliament declared environmental emergency Tigris-Euphrates pollution on 24Sept26. Enlil traces the pattern and what enforcement would actually require.

Othman Kareem · 24 Sept 2026 · 11 min read

Who we are

Iraq's questions deserve Iraqi evidence.

Enlil Center is an independent, non-profit think tank in Baghdad. We produce research, policy analysis and open data across five pillars — climate, water, energy, economy and governance — so decisions about Iraq's future rest on facts, not assumptions.

About Enlil

14Publications
41Open datasets
10Partners
Analysis

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Energy

Iraq's Power Paradox: An Energy Giant Running Out of Power

Iraq is heading into the summer of 2026 with a record demand forecast, a collapsing Iranian gas supply and a grid that already failed once in March. Othman Kareem examines why an oil-and-gas-rich country still cannot keep the lights on, and what a way out would require.

Othman Kareem · 21 Jun 2026 · 60 reads
Research

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Report PDF

Iraq's Climate Negotiation Handbook

Iraq's 333-page negotiating handbook for COP28, prepared with UNDP and the Ministry of Environment. Enlil Center authored its Mitigation chapters, the Energy Security brief and the COP28 Position Paper.

Enlil Research Unit · 22 Nov 2023
On the ground

Projects

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ProjectOngoing

Recommendations on Policy and Legislation to Stop Open Burning of Waste in Iraq

Enlil Center is the national partner to IGES and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition on policy and legislative recommendations to end open waste burning in Iraq — stakeholder consultations, governance analysis and a proposed Iraq Waste Framework reviewed with the Ministry of Environment.

Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) · 2026
ProjectCompleted

Climate Mobility Integration into Iraq's National Adaptation Plan (NAP)

Enlil Center led the field research and technical writing for the Climate Mobility Chapter of Iraq's National Adaptation Plan for IOM Iraq — interviews, focus groups and field visits across Federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, now part of Iraq's UNFCCC submission.

International Organization for Migration (IOM), Iraq · 2025
ProjectCompleted

Iraq’s Climate Investment Plan (CIP)

As consultant to UNDP Iraq in 2024, Enlil Center mobilised ministry data, drafted the mitigation and finance sections and trained the 14-ministry committee on Article 6 carbon markets for Iraq's US$82.85 billion Climate Investment Plan.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Iraq · 2024
About Enlil Center

An independent research center in Iraq, built in Baghdad

The Enlil Center for Environment and Sustainable Development is a non-profit, non-partisan research center and think tank based in Baghdad, Iraq. We started with climate and environment; today our work spans the five pillars that decide whether Iraq's next decade is resilient or reactive.

We conduct applied research, publish policy analysis, maintain an open data hub, and convene Iraqi institutions, civil society and international partners around evidence. Our aim is simple: that the people shaping Iraq's future — in ministries, parliament, universities, businesses and newsrooms — can reach for Iraqi evidence first.

We are named for Enlil, the Mesopotamian god of wind and storms, whose temple stood at Nippur in what is now Iraq — a reminder that this land has weathered change for six thousand years.

"Bridging rigorous research with practical, locally anchored solutions for a more resilient, prosperous Iraq."

  • Independent and non-partisanWe publish what the evidence supports, and say where it is thin.
  • Open by defaultOur data is downloadable and every figure carries its source.
  • Rooted in IraqResearch designed with, and for, the institutions that will use it.
Contact

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Research collaboration, data requests, media enquiries, partnerships — the Enlil team in Baghdad reads every message.

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Enlil Center

Baghdad, Iraq

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