Daily Star - Khoury promises to tackle desertification, September 21, 2011

BEIRUT: Environment Minister Nazim Khoury pledged that Lebanon would do its part to slow climate change and desertification during a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly Tuesday, while calling on developed countries to fulfill their obligations under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change According to the National News Agency, the topic of the meeting in New York was “addressing desertification, land degradation and drought in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.”“Lebanon welcomes and acknowledges the positive impact of all measures taken on the issue of desertification and commits to the principle of shared responsibility,” Khoury said, adding that the country is working to increase the share of renewable energy to 12 percent by 2020 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions 35 percent by 2030.Khoury said this commitment is expected to cost a total of $12 billion.“We call on developed countries to fulfill their obligations under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and secure effective and coordinated long-term funding, given that the economic benefits from such a reduction in Lebanon are estimated at $3 billion annually,” he said.The environment minister affirmed the need for all members of the General Assembly to take action to confront global environmental problems which constitute a challenge to the survival of human civilization.According to Khoury, environmental and climatic changes taking place in the Middle East are expected to lead to more forced migration and conflicts over the distribution of resources. “The ongoing Israeli attempts to install pipes in south Lebanon are evidence of these conflicts,” he added.