Climate-change activists give wake up call to Lebanon

BEIRUT: Arab countries have so far all but neglected the issue of climate change but must now actively cooperate in negotiations during a key upcoming summit in Copenhagen, Leba-nese environmental activists said on Monday. The demand was made by the throngs of people gathered in Beirut’s Ain al-Mreisseh neighborhood who erected a “Climate Change Countdown Clock” to symbolize the three months the international community has left to forge an agreement to combat climate change during a summit in Copenhagen, Denmark. 

The protest came as part of a series of “Global Wake up Call” events taking place at more than 2,000 locations in 120 countries to help revitalize flagging international climate talks. 

To draw attention to the short time left for negotiations, activists sounded their clock and mobile-phone alarms, honked horns and played musical instruments. Protesters led by the Lebanese non-governmental organization IndyAct also waved banners reading “Wake up 12:18,” to mark December 18, when the Copenhagen climate change agreement is supposed to be reached. 

“Arab leaders missed yet another opportunity to defend the survival needs of the region from climate-change impacts,” said Wael Hmaidan, executive director of IndyAct, referring to a UN climate summit in New York on Monday that most Arab heads of state overlooked. While the summit was attended by the presidents of the US, France, China and many other countries, “only Algeria participated at the presidential level from the Arab region,” Hmaidan added. 

“The main Arab countries engaging in the negotiations are Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, who only defend their oil trade,” he said, adding that no Arab country had ever even spoken at the climate change negotiation sessions. “The Arab region is more than oil, and we have to know that if climate change is not addressed properly, we will lose our agriculture, water, economy and livelihood of our people in the region and globally.” 

IndyAct has joined forces with several international organizations to demand Arab leaders attend the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen in December and sign a binding treaty to halt climate change. “We have the technology and the solutions to solve the climate crisis, but we need to show leaders that the global public wants action now,” IndyAct said. 

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday warned that it would be “morally inexcusable” if the international community failed to agree on a new treaty in Copenhagen. – The Daily Star