Raul Castro Warns Of Consequences Of Climate Change

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 22 (BERNAMA-NNN-PRENSA LATINA) -- Cuban President Raul Castro on Thursday warned that global temperature rise will compromise integrity and physical existence of many countries and island nations, and will produce serious consequences to the Third World.

"Despite the milestone that marked the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, emissions of carbon dioxide increased by 38 percent between 1990 and 2009", he said at the plenary session of the Summit United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio 20.

"Now we are going towards an increase in global temperatures that will risk, first, the integrity and physical existence of many island developing States and produce serious consequences in Africa, Asia and Latin America", he said.

Castro said, a detailed study made during the past five years by Cuban scientific institutions, which coincided with the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, forecast that "in this century, if current trends continue, there will be a gradual and significant elevation of sea level in the Cuban archipelago."

The forecast includes the intensification of extreme meteorologycal events such as tropical cyclones and the increase of the ground water salinisation, said Castro.

"All this will have serious consequences, especially on our coasts, so we have initiated the adoption of appropriate measures, he added.

He indicated that this phenomenon would likewise have strong geographic,demographic and economic implications to the Caribbean islands, which also must face inequities of the international economic system that excluded the smallest and most vulnerable.

In his speech, he also called on nations to seek solutions instead of being selfish and giving explanations because "this time, all of us will pay the consequences of climate change."

"The governments of industrialised countries acting this way should not make the mistake of thinking that they can survive a little longer at our expense," he said.

He stressed that "we are desperate for a major change, and said the only alternative is to build more just societies, and to establish a more equitable international order based on respect for the rights of all."

Castro added that it was necessary to ensure sustainable development of nations, especially in the South, and to use science and technology for saving the planet and human dignity.

-- BERNAMA-NNN-PRENSA LATINA