Iraq’s hybrid car tariffs risk increasing air pollution, watchdog warns

Shafaq News– Baghdad

The Iraqi government’s decision to impose the same customs tariff on hybrid and conventional vehicles is a “grave mistake” that risks worsening air pollution, the Iraq Green Observatory warned on Thursday.

The environmental group’s criticism follows the General Customs Authority’s enforcement, starting January 1, 2026, of a 15% tariff on goods it classifies as luxury items, including imported vehicles.

In a statement, the observatory explained that the policy eliminates incentives to adopt cleaner vehicles. Hybrid vehicles, it suggested, should have been exempted or subject to lower fees to help reduce emissions and support Iraq’s environmental commitments.

Read more: The air we breathe: How pollution is quietly rewriting Iraq’s future

Iraq’s General Traffic Directorate estimated in December that the number of registered vehicles nationwide has exceeded 8 million, up from about 7 million in 2020. The Iraq Future Foundation later warned that the total could surpass 9 million by 2030, citing weak public transport infrastructure.

MP Ibtisam Al-Hilali earlier told Shafaq News that the caretaker government lacks constitutional authority to impose new taxes, including the 15% levy. Iraq’s cabinet was limited to day-to-day decisions after a court ruling on November 17 determined that parliamentary elections earlier that month had ended the legislature’s mandate, curbing the government’s powers until a new administration is formed.