December 2015 was arguably its Confirmation, its Khatam Al Qur'an, its Shinbya, its
Upanayana.
waste and carbon emissions to water consumption, it did little to define how we should
achieve them. On the bright side though, the Conference saw a strong participation of
less-developed countries - evidence of increased political will, recognition of the growing
synergy between economic and environmental controls, and a more responsible approach
to carbon emissions.
majority of environmentalists, business leaders and politicians recognise climate
change to be a tangible process that manifests itself in increasingly intense and
frequent climatic extremes - devastating floods, prolonged droughts, destructive
hurricanes. On the fringes of conferences and symposia, it is still possible to find
the odd polluter-funded climate scientist or natural capital-exploiting industrialist
who will argue such events are merely a natural cyclic phenomenon rather than
the result of mankind's inhumane treatment of his own environment. But the
discussion has moved on; climate change is real. Period. The cause is no longer
important and we all have to learn to live with it.
Arabia, now recognise there are healthier and more sustainable alternatives,
while those such as Bangladesh and the Maldives doubt their own long-term
viability in the face of increased floods and rising sea levels. This transformation
in thinking is no less epochal than when late nineteen century municipalities
decided it was better to pipe sewage underground rather than channelling it
down the middle of the street; or when early 1960's clinicians agreeing that
smoking caused lung cancer.
John Davey
Environment Manager
Dar Al-Handasah
Beirut