Samoa Premier : Global Warming Is Biggest Challenge for Humanity

Doha, December 04 (QNA) - Prime Minister of the Republic of Samoa Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Neioti Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi has noted that the temperature rise in the world (global warming ) is the biggest challenge for humanity and it is an existential threat particularly for residents of low-lying islands that have long suffered from the effects of climate change, he said . The Prime Minister of Samoa, in a speech today at the opening session of the high-level meetings of the 18th United Nations Conference on climate change 2012 added that the Durban Platform had reached a balanced deal in the past year to help address the threats of climate change in the post-Kyoto Protocol and beyond. He pointed out that the Doha conference is expected to reach a second agreement for the Kyoto Protocol and that the negotiations are completed in parallel tracks on long-term cooperative action to make progress and promote the Durban Platform negotiations in order to draw up a new policy structure for the global climate. The Samoan Prime Minister noted that the time passes quickly and the World Bank report last month stated alarming facts suggesting that the world is a past about 4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century and there are a series of scientific reports that indicate similar scenarios if we do not take bold action today, he added. He said that his country strongly supports the request to set ambitious goals to reduce emissions before and after 2020 . He expressed hope that more nations would join the second phase of the Kyoto convention being debated at this conference, stressing that his country wants to be part of the solutions to climate change and to contribute positively to the global effort.(QNA)