Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr Moussa on Wednesday urged
the Arab countries to act in earnest in the face of climate change
as the region is one of the most affected regions.
Speaking at inauguration of the 19th session of the council of
Arab environment ministers held at the Cairo-based AL headquarters,
Moussa called for good Arab preparation at the ongoing UN Climate
Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia.
The AL chief referred to a conflict of interests between
industrial and developing countries, indicating that preindustrial
nations may be used to pass certain bills.
He added that Arab countries should be interest-driven when
dealing with such approaches.
During the session of Arab environment ministers on ecosystem
and development, Egyptian Minister of State for the Environment
Magid Ghattas noted that climate change was behind the marked soil
deterioration which consequently affected development.
He called for a new environment-friendly approach to achieve
sustainable development through Arab coordination as the Arab
region suffers the most from desertification and levels of water
scarcity in the Arab world is among the highest worldwide.
For his part, Tunisian minister of environment Nadhir Hamada
called on Arab countries to take effective joint efforts to ensure
a better future as their responsibility has doubled.
The Arab environment ministers meeting also tackled on Arab-
international cooperation with China, Japan, India and Latin
American countries, which is believed to help establish an Arab
foreign policy in the field of environment.
The UN Climate Change Conference kicked off on Monday in Bali
and will last until Dec. 14. Representatives from over 180
countries are engaged into marathon discussions for an
international climate change regime.
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(Xinhua News Agency December 6, 2007)
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