Climate change is a real challenge of our age and each one of us needs to do his part to address the issue, Prince Turki Bin Nasser Bin Abdul Aziz, President of Presidency of Meteorology and Environment, said here on Tuesday. Addressing a meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) which is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its establishment by observing the World Environment Day, Prince Turki urged all OIC member states to do their best to save the environment individually and collectively. The OIC has decided to adopt the 2009 World Environment Day theme “Your Planet Needs You! Unite to combat climate change” in order to participate in the United Nations Environment Program worldwide tree planting campaign which aims to plant a billion trees on planet Earth. The Presidency of PME, Prince Turki said, launched this campaign in the Kingdom last year by planting one million trees. Prince Turki said climate change negotiations will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark 190 days after World Environment Day. The Prince quoted a tradition from the Prophet (peace be upon him) showing the importance of planting trees. He said: If the Hour (Judgment Day) is about to be established and one of you is holding a palm shoot, let him take advantage of even one second before the Hour is established to plant it. He added that PME has proudly hosted three Islamic conferences on environment to develop cooperation and strengthen the exchange of information among OIC member states on environmental issues. The OIC, being the representative umbrella organization of the Islamic countries, should continue to play an active role and contribute to meet the present challenges of climate change. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, OIC Secretary General, said that our planet is being threatened by climate change. It is the most important environmental issue facing the world today. Droughts, floods, rising sea levels, melting ice, degrading economic systems, loss of biodiversity and other impacts of climate change require nations to collaborate to develop solutions. Climate change is causing devastation in the developing countries. It is turning fertile land into deserts. The world food crises and the current economic recession are intrinsically linked with the negative consequences of climate change, he observed. He further said that the protection of the environment is one of the core values of Islamic teachings. The OIC under its ten-year program of action has called upon its member states to coordinate their environmental policies under the spirit of Islamic solidarity to combat the adverse effects of climate change.
