World Countries Not Serious About Environment: COP18 Participants

Doha, December 01 (QNA) - A group of international institutions concerned with environmental issues and agriculture have called on the Doha-based COP18 to reach "serious" agreements to protect the planet from pollution and harmful emissions, pointing to the threat these emissions pose, and accusing world countries of being concerned about their industrial interests at the expense of Earth's future. World Agroforestry Centre Global Coordinator Peter Akong pointed to the risk of desertification and deforestation particularly in Latin America and Africa, noting that removing forests' trees in these regions only may cause disruption to the environmental, natural, and human system for the rest of the planet. Addressing a seminar on the sidelines of the COP18, Akong said vegetation poverty, which reduces evaporation and, consequently, rainfall, erodes the soil as in North Afric, Egypt and the Levant. He added that erosion is one of the most serious natural causes of desertification. As for the human causes, which he considers more threatening, Akong pointed to human abuse of the natural environment and turning it into residential and industrial facilities, in addition to large mining operations and what is known as civilizational desertification. Rodney Lunduka, Researcher and Climate Change Economist at the International Institute for Environment and Development, said raising carbon taxes is an "effective" way of reducing emissions and eliminating environmentally harmful effects. He noted that it is significant that Doha talks result in binding decisive measures that oblige all countries to raise taxes and impose severe penalties on violators. (QNA)