Seychelles regrets ‘rich man’s deal’ on climate
President James Michel has expressed regret at what he called the “rich man’s deal” reached at the climate summit in Copenhagen.
He said if the rich countries try to finance carbon-reduction projects in developing countries but continue with their own emissions, nothing will change.
Speaking at Praslin’s Vallée de Mai World Heritage Site, whose new visitor centre he opened on Saturday, he said it was unfortunate no binding agreement was reached but vowed to continue championing the plight of small island developing countries in particular.
“We knew it was not going to be easy, but we thought perhaps the leaders of all the developed countries would listen to the concerns and the voice of reason and ensure we had a binding agreement,” said Mr Michel, who returned home on Friday after attending the summit.
He said it turned out he was right that we could end up with a “rich man’s deal”, as happened, but said we must continue to make our voices heard.
“We must continue fighting until all the countries understand we have to save the planet,” he added.
He said if things continue as they are, the planet will continue to warm up and island nations will feel the brunt of climate change.
Mr Michel recalled that at the summit he strongly supported the proposal to ensure global warming stays as far below 1.5 degrees Celsius as possible, and carbon dioxide concentrations are reduced to well below 350 parts per million.
Well before the dangers of climate change were widely known, Seychelles was already voicing its concern over the urgent need to cut emissions and increase carbon dioxide absorption capacity through forests.
The President has personally championed the need to cut emissions to prevent sea-level rise at every chance he has had in major forums overseas, and he also launched the Sea Level Rise Foundation in 2007. The foundation is a mechanism aimed at galvanizing global action to address the devastating impacts of climate change on our planet.
Source: NATION 12-21-09