How Syria\u27s Failure to Uphold the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement Exacerbated the Effects of Climate Change in the Levant

The drought in the Levant Region of the Arab Republic of Syria has caused massive destruction by disrupting agriculture and forcing migration to cities. The drought, induced by climate change, has destroyed livelihoods, structures, and health of scores of people. Environmental tensions fed a political discontent that had long been simmering in rural areas, and was a trigger for the Syrian Revolution. Syrians even turned to USAID for help in 2008 when the Syrian minister of agriculture stated publicly, the economic and social fallout from the drought was \u27beyond [Syria\u27s] capacity as a country to deal with. However, the impacts of climate change and the drought in the Levant are still felt today in both Syria and its surrounding countries. Syria\u27s failure to uphold commitments under inter- national environmental declarations such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement exacerbated the drought in the Levant Region of Syria