07 October 2007 07:10
Climate change is already happening in South Africa, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday during a visit to a biodiversity centre in Cape Town."You can see that climate change is already a reality here," said Merkel, as she visited Biota Africa, a centre where German and South African scientists conduct research on African climate change."Climate change is more obvious in South Africa than in Germany," she said."If the temperature rises seven degrees in South Africa, then it is too late," said Merkel, on her third day of her South African visit.'Moving moment'Merkel met on Saturday with former South African president Nelson Mandela and declared afterwards that it had been a "very moving moment" to meet the hero of the anti-apartheid movement.Merkel met for 45 minutes with the 89-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who was accompanied by his wife, Graca Machel, for what was the German leader's first personal meeting with Mandela."It was a very moving moment for me to experience and to speak with Nelson Mandela," the Berlin leader said, describing him as a monument of humanity.She noted that as a young woman while she was living in the former communist East Germany, she had followed with interest Mandela's opposition activities to end apartheid and so it was her special wish to have a chance to meet him.With Mandela having largely withdrawn from the public limelight, Merkel and Development Aid Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul regarded it as an honour that they were given an appointment with the former South African president.The meeting took place in the library of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, which has joined in the battle against Aids in South Africa.There was a bit of joking when he asked Merkel whether she wanted some rum in her coffee. When she asked whether he drank rum with his coffee, he said he was too old.Moments later, when Wieczorek-Zeul disclosed that her ministry was donating $3,6-million to his foundation, Mandela said: "You have just made me younger."Graca Machel, now one of Africa's most influential women, praised Merkel for her efforts on behalf of the forthcoming European Union-Africa summit. But she warned the Berlin leader not to make too much of an issue of the participation of Zimbabwe's controversial leader Robert Mugabe.Mandela, for his part, said that the most important message must be peace itself. Whether Sudan, democratic Republic of Congo or Somalia, all conflicts must be resolved through peace. He had arrived at this maxim during his many long years in prison, he told Merkel.Merkel arrived in South Africa late on Thursday evening on the second leg of a three-nation trip to Africa. She met President Thabo Mbeki on Friday. She leaves South Africa on Sunday, with a brief stopover scheduled in Liberia before returning home. -- Sapa-AFP, dpa
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Friday, October 5, 2007
Teroka angkasa tuntutan kaji alam
KUALA LUMPUR 5 Okt. – Penerokaan angkasa lepas dilihat dalam konteks agama Islam sebagai memenuhi tuntutan manusia untuk mengkaji, meneroka dan menyelidik rahsia alam ciptaan tuhan secara sistematik.
Menurut teks khutbah Jumaat edaran Jabatan Kemajuan Agama Islam Malaysia (Jakim) hari ini, penerokaan angkasa lepas disifatkan sebagai cabaran Pencipta (Allah s.w.t) kepada manusia untuk meneroka misteri alam dengan akal fikiran yang telah diberikan kepada setiap manusia.
“Yang pasti melalui penerokaan angkasa lepas sudah tentu ia memberi kebaikan kepada kehidupan manusia dalam pelbagai bidang. Contohnya melalui satelit kita mampu menentukan waktu solat dan arah kiblat dengan tepat, memudahkan kita menentukan permulaan awal Ramadan, Syawal dan sebagainya.
“Dan tidak ketinggalan dengan penerokaan ini juga, kita dapat membuat pengkajian tentang perubahan iklim dunia, contohnya melalui satelit gambar-gambar awan boleh diambil dan dapat mengetahui pergerakannya, kemungkinan berlakunya ribut taufan, banjir, tsunami dan sebagainya,” jelas teks khutbah bertajuk “Misi Angkasawan Negara Anugerah Allah Dalam Menjana Fardu Kifayah Ummah” yang dipetik Bernama.
Oleh itu, masyarakat Malaysia secara keseluruhan wajar menganggap perkembangan tersebut sebagai anugerah Tuhan yang perlu disyukuri kerana negara akan berada dalam senarai pendahulu dalam penerokaan angkasa lepas.
Teks khutbah Jumaat itu dibacakan di masjid seluruh negara sempena ekspedisi sulung angkasawan dari Malaysia ke angkasa lepas.
Calon yang bakal dipilih pada saat akhir di antara Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha dan Kapten Dr Faiz Khaleed akan memulakan ekspedisi pada 10 Oktober ini dari tapak pelancaran di Baikonour, Kazakhstan antara pukul 9 hingga 9.30 malam waktu Malaysia.
Sementara itu, umat Islam di seluruh negara hari ini mengadakan solat hajat selepas sembahyang Jumaat bagi mendoakan kejayaan Misi Angkasawan Negara yang akan dilancarkan minggu depan.
– Bernama
Menurut teks khutbah Jumaat edaran Jabatan Kemajuan Agama Islam Malaysia (Jakim) hari ini, penerokaan angkasa lepas disifatkan sebagai cabaran Pencipta (Allah s.w.t) kepada manusia untuk meneroka misteri alam dengan akal fikiran yang telah diberikan kepada setiap manusia.
“Yang pasti melalui penerokaan angkasa lepas sudah tentu ia memberi kebaikan kepada kehidupan manusia dalam pelbagai bidang. Contohnya melalui satelit kita mampu menentukan waktu solat dan arah kiblat dengan tepat, memudahkan kita menentukan permulaan awal Ramadan, Syawal dan sebagainya.
“Dan tidak ketinggalan dengan penerokaan ini juga, kita dapat membuat pengkajian tentang perubahan iklim dunia, contohnya melalui satelit gambar-gambar awan boleh diambil dan dapat mengetahui pergerakannya, kemungkinan berlakunya ribut taufan, banjir, tsunami dan sebagainya,” jelas teks khutbah bertajuk “Misi Angkasawan Negara Anugerah Allah Dalam Menjana Fardu Kifayah Ummah” yang dipetik Bernama.
Oleh itu, masyarakat Malaysia secara keseluruhan wajar menganggap perkembangan tersebut sebagai anugerah Tuhan yang perlu disyukuri kerana negara akan berada dalam senarai pendahulu dalam penerokaan angkasa lepas.
Teks khutbah Jumaat itu dibacakan di masjid seluruh negara sempena ekspedisi sulung angkasawan dari Malaysia ke angkasa lepas.
Calon yang bakal dipilih pada saat akhir di antara Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha dan Kapten Dr Faiz Khaleed akan memulakan ekspedisi pada 10 Oktober ini dari tapak pelancaran di Baikonour, Kazakhstan antara pukul 9 hingga 9.30 malam waktu Malaysia.
Sementara itu, umat Islam di seluruh negara hari ini mengadakan solat hajat selepas sembahyang Jumaat bagi mendoakan kejayaan Misi Angkasawan Negara yang akan dilancarkan minggu depan.
– Bernama
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Animals are causing climate change
28 September 2007
ALTHOUGH we were delighted to see that the Christian Aid ‘Cut the Carbon’ march will reaching it’s finale in London on the October 2, we were shocked to see no mention of the impact of livestock on climate change.The main gas that farmed animals produce, methane, is actually 21 times more damaging that carbon dioxide, and livestock farming accounts for 18 per cent of greenhouse emissions.This is more than the entire world’s transport systems combined and comes second only to the burning of fossil fuels as a contributor to global warming.In fact, farmed animals produce 100 million tons of methane every single year as well as 13 billion tonnes of waste every year. This waste causes acid rain, pollutes waterways and devastates wildlife.Across the world, poor countries are being encouraged to grow cash crops such as animal fodder to earn foreign currency to meet their debt repayments - at the expense of food for home consumption. It has resulted in the obscenity of children starving to death alongside lush crops destined for the West’s animals. Most of this food is wasted as for every 10kg of vegetable protein fed to cattle, only 1kg is converted to meat.It is clear to us at Viva! that the only way to prevent climate change and to feed the world is to adopt a vegetarian, or even better, vegan diet.If you would like any more information or a free ‘Go Veggie’ pack, please contact us on 0117 944 1000 (Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm) or log on to www.viva.org.uk. Or read about the UN Report, ‘Livestock’s Long Shadow’, at www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html.
ALTHOUGH we were delighted to see that the Christian Aid ‘Cut the Carbon’ march will reaching it’s finale in London on the October 2, we were shocked to see no mention of the impact of livestock on climate change.The main gas that farmed animals produce, methane, is actually 21 times more damaging that carbon dioxide, and livestock farming accounts for 18 per cent of greenhouse emissions.This is more than the entire world’s transport systems combined and comes second only to the burning of fossil fuels as a contributor to global warming.In fact, farmed animals produce 100 million tons of methane every single year as well as 13 billion tonnes of waste every year. This waste causes acid rain, pollutes waterways and devastates wildlife.Across the world, poor countries are being encouraged to grow cash crops such as animal fodder to earn foreign currency to meet their debt repayments - at the expense of food for home consumption. It has resulted in the obscenity of children starving to death alongside lush crops destined for the West’s animals. Most of this food is wasted as for every 10kg of vegetable protein fed to cattle, only 1kg is converted to meat.It is clear to us at Viva! that the only way to prevent climate change and to feed the world is to adopt a vegetarian, or even better, vegan diet.If you would like any more information or a free ‘Go Veggie’ pack, please contact us on 0117 944 1000 (Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm) or log on to www.viva.org.uk. Or read about the UN Report, ‘Livestock’s Long Shadow’, at www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html.
Cabaran baru PBB
Oleh ZULKEFLI HAMZAH (Yang membuat liputan Perhimpunan Agung PBB di New York)
KEBIMBANGAN mengenai planet bumi dan kehidupannya semakin mendapat perhatian para pemimpin dunia. Kehidupan manusia kian terancam. Kesan perubahan iklim setakat yang kita ketahui sangat mengerikan.
Ia menjadi topik khusus dan disentuh oleh para pemimpin yang berucap pada sesi perbahasan umum Perhimpunan Agung Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (UNGA) di New York.
Walaupun ada yang menyebutnya sebagai agenda Amerika Syarikat (AS) tetapi perubahan iklim sudah menjadi topik hangat. Pada sidang kemuncak Kerjasama Ekonomi Asia Pasifik (APEC) di Sydney, bulan lalu ia juga menjadi topik utama.
Begitu juga ASEAN, sidang kemuncak di Singapura pada November ini akan menjadikan perubahan ilkim dan alam sekitar sebagai agenda utama pertemuan. Persidangan itu sendiri mengambil tema Tenaga, Alam Sekitar, Perubahan Iklim dan Pembangunan Berterusan.
Dalam masa terdekat ini, isu perubahan iklim akan menjadi topik perbahasan utama setiap persidangan serantau mahupun antarabangsa. Ia mungkin sama penting atau lebih penting daripada isu keselamatan dan keamanan.
Sudah ada kesedaran dalam kalangan pemimpin dunia bahawa perubahan iklim sukar untuk dicegah dan dihentikan. Perubahan iklim ibarat waktu yang akan terus bergerak. Kajian ilmiah mendapati planet Bumi yang kita huni ini akan tunggang-langgang akibat perubahan iklim.
Panel Antara Kerajaan Mengenai Perubahan Iklim (IPCC) yang dibentuk oleh PBB meramalkan kutub utara akan hilang dalam tempoh 50 tahun lagi, peningkatan suhu 1.8 hingga 4 darjah Celsius, permukaan air laut naik 28 hingga 34 sentimeter dan peningkatan gelombang udara panas dan badai tropika.
Kajian juga mendapati perubahan iklim boleh menjadi punca meningkatnya pelbagai penyakit seperti wabak taun, demam berdarah dan malaria.
Bencana yang diakibatkan perubahan iklim dianggarkan menyebabkan kerugian ekonomi sebanyak AS$150 bilion setahun.
Kesannya memang sudah kita rasai sekarang. Banjir besar di kawasan yang sebelum ini bebas daripada bencana itu, ribut taufan dan gempa bumi. Tetapi seperti yang dinyatakan oleh Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi semasa berucap pada perhimpunan agung PBB, bencana teruk akibat perubahan iklim itu belum tiba lagi.
Dan pada perhimpunan agung PBB ke-62 ini, masyarakat dunia telah melangkah ke era baru.
Buat pertama kali dalam sejarah, masalah perubahan iklim dibincangkan di peringkat tertinggi kepimpinan negara anggota.
Hasilnya, mereka sepakat untuk menjadikan pertemuan Kerangka Konvensyen Terhadap Perubahan Cuaca PBB (UNFCCC) ke-13 di Bali pada Disember ini untuk menggubal perjanjian baru menggantikan Protokol Kyoto yang tamat pada 2012.
Protokol Kyoto merupakan perjanjian di bawah naungan UNFCCC dan meliputi lebih 160 negara serta lebih 60 peratus dari negara-negara dari segi pelepasan gas rumah hijau secara global.
Pertemuan pemimpin peringkat tinggi itu yang diadakan sehari sebelum sesi perbahasan umum PBB, Isnin lalu memberi petunjuk positif terhadap kesungguhan politik pemimpin dunia menangani cabaran perubahan iklim melalui tindakan bersama.
Pelengkap
Satu-satunya forum yang akan digunakan untuk melaksanakan kesepakatan itu ialah melalui UNFCC. Inisiatif lain seperti ditegaskan oleh Abdullah, tidak boleh menjadi saingan tetapi pelengkap kepada kesepakatan dalam UNFCC.
UNFCC penting sebagai forum bagi membahas dan melaksanakan perjanjian pasca-Protokol Tokyo yang tamat pada 2012.
Dalam aspek ini, semua pemimpin dunia sebagaimana komitmen yang telah dinyatakan di perhimpunan agung PBB, perlu melaksanakan segala kesepakatan atau perjanjian sebelum akhir 2012.
Soalnya sekarang ialah komitmen negara maju seperti negara yang kini mengambil peranan sebagai ‘pemimpin dunia’, Amerika Syarikat (AS) untuk sama-sama melaksanakan segala kesepakatan pasca 2012.
AS sendiri tidak menandatangani Protokol Tokyo yang ditandatangani pada 1997. Kali ini kesungguhan AS dan negara maju lain ditagih serta tidak ada yang terkecuali.
Diharapkan ketidakhadiran Presiden George W. Bush pada sesi meja bulat berkenaan teknologi sebelum UNGA ke- 62 bermula tidak menggambarkan kedegilan AS untuk melaksanakan kesepakatan dalam menangani perubahan iklim pasca 2012.
Bush yang menghantar Setiausaha Negara, Condoleezza Rice bagaimanapun menyatakan AS memahami keperluan mendesak untuk menangani perubahan iklim.
Tetapi AS, sebagaimana selalunya mempunyai agenda sendiri dalam menangani isu ini. Bush pada minggu ini menganjurkan sendiri persidangan perubahan iklim yang dihadiri oleh 16 buah negara maju – negara penyumbang terbesar pencemaran.
Nampaknya Bush mahu membentuk pelan dan tindakan sendiri, yang mungkin nantinya akan digabungkan dengan usaha PBB melalui UNFCC.
Inilah politik PBB, negara maju khususnya AS tidak akan tunduk kepadanya tetapi sebaliknya mereka yang menentukan apa seharusnya dilakukan oleh badan dunia itu.
Dalam hal ini, negara-negara membangun termasuk Malaysia dan Indonesia, selaku hos kepada UNFCC ke-13 nanti, telah menyuarakan pendirian masing-masing untuk memastikan perjanjian pasca 2012 benar-benar berkesan dalam menangani cabaran perubahan iklim.
Tetapi sekali lagi, mampukah negara-negara maju melaksanakan peranan kritikalnya – mengurangkan pelepasan gas rumah hijau, mengembangkan mekanisme yang memudahkan sumbangan dan mewujudkan peruntukan khas – sebagaimana permintaan negara membangun dan miskin?
Bencana
Inilah isu penting yang perlu diselesaikan segera sebelum berakhirnya perjanjian Protokol Kyoto yang akan menentukan nasib muka bumi ini daripada bencana akibat perubahan iklim.
Sebenarnya perubahan iklim telah menjadi topik percakapan masyarakat dunia sejak tahun 1990-an lagi.
Sidang Kemuncak Bumi di Rio de Janeiro, Brazil pada 1992 merupakan permulaannya.
Inilah yang diingatkan oleh Abdullah di depan khalayak antarabangsa semasa berucap pada UNGA, Jumaat lalu. Beliau mengingatkan bahawa mesej sidang kemuncak itu bukan lebih daripada “transformasi sikap dan tabiat kita yang akan membawa perubahan yang sewajarnya.”
“Kebenaran ini masih kekal,” tegas Perdana Menteri.
Nampaknya dalam menangani masalah sejagat ini, lebih banyak cadangan dan usul dibuat untuk memperlihatkan seolah-olah tindakan diambil sedangkan tiada langkah bermakna dilakukan untuk menjaga kesejahteraan Bumi ini.
Memang kesejahteraan planet Bumi dan semua penghuninya berada dalam kawalan kita tetapi sayangnya manusia itu sendiri yang tidak mahu berubah kerana kepentingan-kepentingan tertentu.
Negara maju dengan lagaknya enggan berkongsi kemakmuran untuk memberi pampasan kepada negara membangun dan miskin yang berusaha melakukan usaha-usaha mengawal pemanasan global.
Negara membangun dan miskin pula hanya pandai berteriak meminta bantuan sedangkan tidak berusaha bersungguh-sungguh untuk memulihara alamnya. Hutan hijaunya digondol sesuka hati manakala kawasan bukit-bukau ditarah untuk pembangunan.
Lantas apa yang boleh kita lakukan jika bencana alam akibat kecuaian manusia itu terus berlaku.
Apakah kita hanya mahu berserah kepada takdir? Apakah bencana alam yang silih berganti sekarang merupakan petanda akhir zaman?
Yang jelas, masalah perubahan iklim akan menjadi satu lagi ujian keberkesanan peranan PBB sebagai sebuah badan yang mewakili masyarakat dunia selepas kegagalannya dalam menangani isu keselamatan dan keamanan sejagat.
– Utusan-1/10/2007
KEBIMBANGAN mengenai planet bumi dan kehidupannya semakin mendapat perhatian para pemimpin dunia. Kehidupan manusia kian terancam. Kesan perubahan iklim setakat yang kita ketahui sangat mengerikan.
Ia menjadi topik khusus dan disentuh oleh para pemimpin yang berucap pada sesi perbahasan umum Perhimpunan Agung Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (UNGA) di New York.
Walaupun ada yang menyebutnya sebagai agenda Amerika Syarikat (AS) tetapi perubahan iklim sudah menjadi topik hangat. Pada sidang kemuncak Kerjasama Ekonomi Asia Pasifik (APEC) di Sydney, bulan lalu ia juga menjadi topik utama.
Begitu juga ASEAN, sidang kemuncak di Singapura pada November ini akan menjadikan perubahan ilkim dan alam sekitar sebagai agenda utama pertemuan. Persidangan itu sendiri mengambil tema Tenaga, Alam Sekitar, Perubahan Iklim dan Pembangunan Berterusan.
Dalam masa terdekat ini, isu perubahan iklim akan menjadi topik perbahasan utama setiap persidangan serantau mahupun antarabangsa. Ia mungkin sama penting atau lebih penting daripada isu keselamatan dan keamanan.
Sudah ada kesedaran dalam kalangan pemimpin dunia bahawa perubahan iklim sukar untuk dicegah dan dihentikan. Perubahan iklim ibarat waktu yang akan terus bergerak. Kajian ilmiah mendapati planet Bumi yang kita huni ini akan tunggang-langgang akibat perubahan iklim.
Panel Antara Kerajaan Mengenai Perubahan Iklim (IPCC) yang dibentuk oleh PBB meramalkan kutub utara akan hilang dalam tempoh 50 tahun lagi, peningkatan suhu 1.8 hingga 4 darjah Celsius, permukaan air laut naik 28 hingga 34 sentimeter dan peningkatan gelombang udara panas dan badai tropika.
Kajian juga mendapati perubahan iklim boleh menjadi punca meningkatnya pelbagai penyakit seperti wabak taun, demam berdarah dan malaria.
Bencana yang diakibatkan perubahan iklim dianggarkan menyebabkan kerugian ekonomi sebanyak AS$150 bilion setahun.
Kesannya memang sudah kita rasai sekarang. Banjir besar di kawasan yang sebelum ini bebas daripada bencana itu, ribut taufan dan gempa bumi. Tetapi seperti yang dinyatakan oleh Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi semasa berucap pada perhimpunan agung PBB, bencana teruk akibat perubahan iklim itu belum tiba lagi.
Dan pada perhimpunan agung PBB ke-62 ini, masyarakat dunia telah melangkah ke era baru.
Buat pertama kali dalam sejarah, masalah perubahan iklim dibincangkan di peringkat tertinggi kepimpinan negara anggota.
Hasilnya, mereka sepakat untuk menjadikan pertemuan Kerangka Konvensyen Terhadap Perubahan Cuaca PBB (UNFCCC) ke-13 di Bali pada Disember ini untuk menggubal perjanjian baru menggantikan Protokol Kyoto yang tamat pada 2012.
Protokol Kyoto merupakan perjanjian di bawah naungan UNFCCC dan meliputi lebih 160 negara serta lebih 60 peratus dari negara-negara dari segi pelepasan gas rumah hijau secara global.
Pertemuan pemimpin peringkat tinggi itu yang diadakan sehari sebelum sesi perbahasan umum PBB, Isnin lalu memberi petunjuk positif terhadap kesungguhan politik pemimpin dunia menangani cabaran perubahan iklim melalui tindakan bersama.
Pelengkap
Satu-satunya forum yang akan digunakan untuk melaksanakan kesepakatan itu ialah melalui UNFCC. Inisiatif lain seperti ditegaskan oleh Abdullah, tidak boleh menjadi saingan tetapi pelengkap kepada kesepakatan dalam UNFCC.
UNFCC penting sebagai forum bagi membahas dan melaksanakan perjanjian pasca-Protokol Tokyo yang tamat pada 2012.
Dalam aspek ini, semua pemimpin dunia sebagaimana komitmen yang telah dinyatakan di perhimpunan agung PBB, perlu melaksanakan segala kesepakatan atau perjanjian sebelum akhir 2012.
Soalnya sekarang ialah komitmen negara maju seperti negara yang kini mengambil peranan sebagai ‘pemimpin dunia’, Amerika Syarikat (AS) untuk sama-sama melaksanakan segala kesepakatan pasca 2012.
AS sendiri tidak menandatangani Protokol Tokyo yang ditandatangani pada 1997. Kali ini kesungguhan AS dan negara maju lain ditagih serta tidak ada yang terkecuali.
Diharapkan ketidakhadiran Presiden George W. Bush pada sesi meja bulat berkenaan teknologi sebelum UNGA ke- 62 bermula tidak menggambarkan kedegilan AS untuk melaksanakan kesepakatan dalam menangani perubahan iklim pasca 2012.
Bush yang menghantar Setiausaha Negara, Condoleezza Rice bagaimanapun menyatakan AS memahami keperluan mendesak untuk menangani perubahan iklim.
Tetapi AS, sebagaimana selalunya mempunyai agenda sendiri dalam menangani isu ini. Bush pada minggu ini menganjurkan sendiri persidangan perubahan iklim yang dihadiri oleh 16 buah negara maju – negara penyumbang terbesar pencemaran.
Nampaknya Bush mahu membentuk pelan dan tindakan sendiri, yang mungkin nantinya akan digabungkan dengan usaha PBB melalui UNFCC.
Inilah politik PBB, negara maju khususnya AS tidak akan tunduk kepadanya tetapi sebaliknya mereka yang menentukan apa seharusnya dilakukan oleh badan dunia itu.
Dalam hal ini, negara-negara membangun termasuk Malaysia dan Indonesia, selaku hos kepada UNFCC ke-13 nanti, telah menyuarakan pendirian masing-masing untuk memastikan perjanjian pasca 2012 benar-benar berkesan dalam menangani cabaran perubahan iklim.
Tetapi sekali lagi, mampukah negara-negara maju melaksanakan peranan kritikalnya – mengurangkan pelepasan gas rumah hijau, mengembangkan mekanisme yang memudahkan sumbangan dan mewujudkan peruntukan khas – sebagaimana permintaan negara membangun dan miskin?
Bencana
Inilah isu penting yang perlu diselesaikan segera sebelum berakhirnya perjanjian Protokol Kyoto yang akan menentukan nasib muka bumi ini daripada bencana akibat perubahan iklim.
Sebenarnya perubahan iklim telah menjadi topik percakapan masyarakat dunia sejak tahun 1990-an lagi.
Sidang Kemuncak Bumi di Rio de Janeiro, Brazil pada 1992 merupakan permulaannya.
Inilah yang diingatkan oleh Abdullah di depan khalayak antarabangsa semasa berucap pada UNGA, Jumaat lalu. Beliau mengingatkan bahawa mesej sidang kemuncak itu bukan lebih daripada “transformasi sikap dan tabiat kita yang akan membawa perubahan yang sewajarnya.”
“Kebenaran ini masih kekal,” tegas Perdana Menteri.
Nampaknya dalam menangani masalah sejagat ini, lebih banyak cadangan dan usul dibuat untuk memperlihatkan seolah-olah tindakan diambil sedangkan tiada langkah bermakna dilakukan untuk menjaga kesejahteraan Bumi ini.
Memang kesejahteraan planet Bumi dan semua penghuninya berada dalam kawalan kita tetapi sayangnya manusia itu sendiri yang tidak mahu berubah kerana kepentingan-kepentingan tertentu.
Negara maju dengan lagaknya enggan berkongsi kemakmuran untuk memberi pampasan kepada negara membangun dan miskin yang berusaha melakukan usaha-usaha mengawal pemanasan global.
Negara membangun dan miskin pula hanya pandai berteriak meminta bantuan sedangkan tidak berusaha bersungguh-sungguh untuk memulihara alamnya. Hutan hijaunya digondol sesuka hati manakala kawasan bukit-bukau ditarah untuk pembangunan.
Lantas apa yang boleh kita lakukan jika bencana alam akibat kecuaian manusia itu terus berlaku.
Apakah kita hanya mahu berserah kepada takdir? Apakah bencana alam yang silih berganti sekarang merupakan petanda akhir zaman?
Yang jelas, masalah perubahan iklim akan menjadi satu lagi ujian keberkesanan peranan PBB sebagai sebuah badan yang mewakili masyarakat dunia selepas kegagalannya dalam menangani isu keselamatan dan keamanan sejagat.
– Utusan-1/10/2007
Monday, October 1, 2007
Pacific Nations Spotlight Perils Of Climate Change
Tuesday, 2 October 2007, 4:35 pm
Pacific island nations spotlight perils of climate change during addresses to UN
Developing countries must be allowed to make voluntary commitments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions under any new global agreement to deal with the effects of climate change, the Deputy Prime Minister of Tuvalu told the General Assembly today.
Tavau Teii, who is also his country's Natural Resources and Environment Minister, said the international summit being held in Bali, Indonesia, in December, "will be very important" in determining how and whether the world can respond successfully to the impact of global warming.
Any agreement emerging from the Bali summit should reconfirm the importance of the Kyoto Protocol concerning greenhouse gas emissions and encourage States Parties to make new and substantial emissions reductions, he said at the annual high-level debate of the General Assembly.
Mr. Teii said newly industrialized countries and States with economies in transition should be encouraged to take on pledges to reduce their emissions.
A new negotiation process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) should also be agreed, he said, to set up a legal agreement allowing developing countries to make voluntary commitments to reduce their emissions.
"Under this arrangement we envisage that developing countries will be able to take voluntary commitments to reduce emissions from the energy, transport and forest sectors. These commitments would be linked to appropriate incentive mechanisms."
Mr. Teii also said it was important that any reductions in emissions from deforestation should not come at the expense of the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.
Vanuatu's Foreign Minister George Andre Wells said a rapid reduction in gas emissions must take place within the next 10 to 15 years.
"It is a reality that, if it is not addressed urgently, will have irreversible effects on the agriculture and tourism sectors which constitute the core pillars of development of many of our island economies."
Mr. Wells said the effect of climate change - such as rising sea levels - on agriculture production, water quality and infrastructure development was of critical importance to his nation.
"For many small island States and least developed countries (LDCs) meeting the challenges of climate change will only add additional stress to their financial, human and institutional capacities."
Mongolia's Foreign Minister Enkhbold Nyamaa told the high-level debate that climate change was already having an impact on nations large and small, coastal and landlocked - like his own.
Desertification has become rampant in Mongolia, he said, with pastures supporting the semi-nomadic lifestyle of many locals dwindling and becoming more fragile.
Extreme weather conditions have also become more common in recent years, particularly droughts and the phenomenon known as "dzud," a cold winter with heavy snowfalls.
Any agreements that succeeds or supplants the Kyoto Protocol "should be flexible and diverse, taking into consideration circumstances in each country," Mr. Nyamaa stressed.
"It must include all the major emitters and achieve compatibility between environmental protection and economic growth by utilizing advances in technologies to the greatest extent possible."
Pacific island nations spotlight perils of climate change during addresses to UN
Developing countries must be allowed to make voluntary commitments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions under any new global agreement to deal with the effects of climate change, the Deputy Prime Minister of Tuvalu told the General Assembly today.
Tavau Teii, who is also his country's Natural Resources and Environment Minister, said the international summit being held in Bali, Indonesia, in December, "will be very important" in determining how and whether the world can respond successfully to the impact of global warming.
Any agreement emerging from the Bali summit should reconfirm the importance of the Kyoto Protocol concerning greenhouse gas emissions and encourage States Parties to make new and substantial emissions reductions, he said at the annual high-level debate of the General Assembly.
Mr. Teii said newly industrialized countries and States with economies in transition should be encouraged to take on pledges to reduce their emissions.
A new negotiation process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) should also be agreed, he said, to set up a legal agreement allowing developing countries to make voluntary commitments to reduce their emissions.
"Under this arrangement we envisage that developing countries will be able to take voluntary commitments to reduce emissions from the energy, transport and forest sectors. These commitments would be linked to appropriate incentive mechanisms."
Mr. Teii also said it was important that any reductions in emissions from deforestation should not come at the expense of the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.
Vanuatu's Foreign Minister George Andre Wells said a rapid reduction in gas emissions must take place within the next 10 to 15 years.
"It is a reality that, if it is not addressed urgently, will have irreversible effects on the agriculture and tourism sectors which constitute the core pillars of development of many of our island economies."
Mr. Wells said the effect of climate change - such as rising sea levels - on agriculture production, water quality and infrastructure development was of critical importance to his nation.
"For many small island States and least developed countries (LDCs) meeting the challenges of climate change will only add additional stress to their financial, human and institutional capacities."
Mongolia's Foreign Minister Enkhbold Nyamaa told the high-level debate that climate change was already having an impact on nations large and small, coastal and landlocked - like his own.
Desertification has become rampant in Mongolia, he said, with pastures supporting the semi-nomadic lifestyle of many locals dwindling and becoming more fragile.
Extreme weather conditions have also become more common in recent years, particularly droughts and the phenomenon known as "dzud," a cold winter with heavy snowfalls.
Any agreements that succeeds or supplants the Kyoto Protocol "should be flexible and diverse, taking into consideration circumstances in each country," Mr. Nyamaa stressed.
"It must include all the major emitters and achieve compatibility between environmental protection and economic growth by utilizing advances in technologies to the greatest extent possible."
World at climate change crossroads - UNEP
By Jeremy Lovell
LONDON (Reuters) - The world went through a tipping point in dealing with climate change in 2007 as public opinion recognised the crisis, but time is running out fast for action, the head of the UN Environment Programme said on Monday.
Achim Steiner said politicians across the world, driven in part by public opinion and in part by signs of climate change like droughts and floods, were finally waking up to the need to take urgent action. What was needed now was momentum.
"We really have now got an issue on which the world public is fully engaged. Now we really have to change gear," he told Reuters by telephone from his Nairobi office. "Climate change is being observed in virtually every country."
"In 2007 we have crossed the threshold easily in terms of the kinds of issues that we agree on. We are now talking about modalities, mechanisms and money," he added.
The crunch would be at a meeting of UN environment ministers in December on the Indonesian island of Bali that many people see as a last chance to launch talks on a new world agreement on measures to cut emissions of climate changing carbon gases.
"Bali must be the starting gun. We have only 24 months to put a global framework in place," Steiner said, noting that the Kyoto Protocol on curbing greenhouse gas emissions runs to 2012 with nothing to replace it as yet.
The United States, the world's biggest emitter of carbon, has rejected Kyoto. But even there political and public pressure had forced the administration of President George W. Bush to start changing tack.
A source at a meeting of major world emitters that Bush convened in Washington last week said his officials had been taken aback by the strong pressure to act from participants.
BOTTOM LINE
"The bottom line is we are now in a much better position to have the full attention of the world's governments for the Bali meeting," Steiner said. "Kyoto is about creating a universal framework that is compatible with a global economy."
But while some countries were now taking action to cut carbon emissions, a lot more needed to be done in terms of practical actions and positive incentives to change.
"From where I sit no one is doing enough," Steiner said.
However, he noted that Germany was taking a lead in renewables like wind power and Costa Rica had adopted a low carbon economy.
Even Cuba and South Africa had started to switch to low energy lightbulbs -- although the motivating force was electricity conservation rather than global warming.
But while prospects for Bali may have begun to look slightly rosier, the impact of climate change was already being felt and would only get worse in the near term, Steiner said.
"There is no linear predictability in terms of how ecosystems respond. The phenomena of collapse is one that we have under-appreciated, partly because of the feed-back mechanisms that we are still trying to understand," he said.
Africa in particular was in the front line of global warming, yet little action and less money was being spent there to try to cope with the effects, Steiner said. "We have lost 10 years in Africa by not taking climate change seriously enough."
LONDON (Reuters) - The world went through a tipping point in dealing with climate change in 2007 as public opinion recognised the crisis, but time is running out fast for action, the head of the UN Environment Programme said on Monday.
Achim Steiner said politicians across the world, driven in part by public opinion and in part by signs of climate change like droughts and floods, were finally waking up to the need to take urgent action. What was needed now was momentum.
"We really have now got an issue on which the world public is fully engaged. Now we really have to change gear," he told Reuters by telephone from his Nairobi office. "Climate change is being observed in virtually every country."
"In 2007 we have crossed the threshold easily in terms of the kinds of issues that we agree on. We are now talking about modalities, mechanisms and money," he added.
The crunch would be at a meeting of UN environment ministers in December on the Indonesian island of Bali that many people see as a last chance to launch talks on a new world agreement on measures to cut emissions of climate changing carbon gases.
"Bali must be the starting gun. We have only 24 months to put a global framework in place," Steiner said, noting that the Kyoto Protocol on curbing greenhouse gas emissions runs to 2012 with nothing to replace it as yet.
The United States, the world's biggest emitter of carbon, has rejected Kyoto. But even there political and public pressure had forced the administration of President George W. Bush to start changing tack.
A source at a meeting of major world emitters that Bush convened in Washington last week said his officials had been taken aback by the strong pressure to act from participants.
BOTTOM LINE
"The bottom line is we are now in a much better position to have the full attention of the world's governments for the Bali meeting," Steiner said. "Kyoto is about creating a universal framework that is compatible with a global economy."
But while some countries were now taking action to cut carbon emissions, a lot more needed to be done in terms of practical actions and positive incentives to change.
"From where I sit no one is doing enough," Steiner said.
However, he noted that Germany was taking a lead in renewables like wind power and Costa Rica had adopted a low carbon economy.
Even Cuba and South Africa had started to switch to low energy lightbulbs -- although the motivating force was electricity conservation rather than global warming.
But while prospects for Bali may have begun to look slightly rosier, the impact of climate change was already being felt and would only get worse in the near term, Steiner said.
"There is no linear predictability in terms of how ecosystems respond. The phenomena of collapse is one that we have under-appreciated, partly because of the feed-back mechanisms that we are still trying to understand," he said.
Africa in particular was in the front line of global warming, yet little action and less money was being spent there to try to cope with the effects, Steiner said. "We have lost 10 years in Africa by not taking climate change seriously enough."
Climate change report 'a wake up call'
2nd October 2007, 12:02 WST
Predictions that temperatures could climb one degree Celsius across Australia by 2030 should be a wake-up call to the major parties to act swiftly on climate change, the Australian Greens say.
The latest Climate Change in Australia report, produced by the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO, indicates the probability of warming exceeding one degree is 10 to 20 per cent for coastal areas of Australia, and more than 50 per cent for inland regions.
Rainfall is also expected to decrease in parts of Australia, particularly in south-western Australia, according to the report.
Greens climate change spokeswoman Senator Christine Milne said the alarming predictions should prompt the major parties to take the issue of climate change seriously.
"When will the government and opposition wake up to the threat and take real action to tackle the biggest issue of our time?" she said.
"The underlying message has not changed for well over a decade: we need to act fast to reduce emissions if we are to have any chance of avoiding runaway climate change."
Senator Milne urged the major parties to stop supporting major greenhouse gas emitters like the coal and aluminium industries.
"Clearly, the problem is nothing about science, but about political will and the power of major industrial emitters," she said.
"Both the government and opposition are desperately trying to protect these major emitters - primarily the coal, forestry and aluminium sectors - while leaving Australia's agriculture and tourism, not to mention our health and infrastructure, to dry up, bleach and melt away."
Senator Milne said steps must be taken to slash emissions by 30 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050 to avoid the CSIRO's predictions eventuating.
Labor's environment spokesman Peter Garrett says agricultural communities and water supplies in southern Australian cities will be severely affected by climate change.
Mr Garrett said the Howard government had gone backwards in addressing the need to cut global greenhouse gas emissions.
"What I'm seeing in today's report is the likelihood that we will have seriously hot days in much of the continent, including in Darwin, but also in the southern parts of the continent which will inevitably impact very, very grievously on agricultural communities and on the water supplies on cities in the south," Mr Garrett told reporters.
"I'm also seeing that the suggestion that scientists have made in the past, that global warming means we're likely to have more intense drought, are now actually confirmed."
Every country had a responsibility to get their emissions under control, Mr Garrett told reporters.
"It's only by getting our emissions under control and showing that we're serious about the task, can we hope to persuade and work with other countries to do the same," he said.
Predictions that temperatures could climb one degree Celsius across Australia by 2030 should be a wake-up call to the major parties to act swiftly on climate change, the Australian Greens say.
The latest Climate Change in Australia report, produced by the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO, indicates the probability of warming exceeding one degree is 10 to 20 per cent for coastal areas of Australia, and more than 50 per cent for inland regions.
Rainfall is also expected to decrease in parts of Australia, particularly in south-western Australia, according to the report.
Greens climate change spokeswoman Senator Christine Milne said the alarming predictions should prompt the major parties to take the issue of climate change seriously.
"When will the government and opposition wake up to the threat and take real action to tackle the biggest issue of our time?" she said.
"The underlying message has not changed for well over a decade: we need to act fast to reduce emissions if we are to have any chance of avoiding runaway climate change."
Senator Milne urged the major parties to stop supporting major greenhouse gas emitters like the coal and aluminium industries.
"Clearly, the problem is nothing about science, but about political will and the power of major industrial emitters," she said.
"Both the government and opposition are desperately trying to protect these major emitters - primarily the coal, forestry and aluminium sectors - while leaving Australia's agriculture and tourism, not to mention our health and infrastructure, to dry up, bleach and melt away."
Senator Milne said steps must be taken to slash emissions by 30 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050 to avoid the CSIRO's predictions eventuating.
Labor's environment spokesman Peter Garrett says agricultural communities and water supplies in southern Australian cities will be severely affected by climate change.
Mr Garrett said the Howard government had gone backwards in addressing the need to cut global greenhouse gas emissions.
"What I'm seeing in today's report is the likelihood that we will have seriously hot days in much of the continent, including in Darwin, but also in the southern parts of the continent which will inevitably impact very, very grievously on agricultural communities and on the water supplies on cities in the south," Mr Garrett told reporters.
"I'm also seeing that the suggestion that scientists have made in the past, that global warming means we're likely to have more intense drought, are now actually confirmed."
Every country had a responsibility to get their emissions under control, Mr Garrett told reporters.
"It's only by getting our emissions under control and showing that we're serious about the task, can we hope to persuade and work with other countries to do the same," he said.
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