Cambodia Enters Fray on Climate Change

By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer

Original report from New York

29 September 2009

(Post by CAAI News Media)

Cambodia has urged developed countries to show more commitment to mitigating climate change, saying that countries like Cambodia that are affected most.

In a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York Saturday, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said that developed countries, who produce the most greenhouse gases, “should share greater responsibility and take more drastic and urgent measures to reduce the emission of these deadly gases.”

“It is an obligation of the international community to roll back global temperatures before it is too late,” he said.

Cambodia’s farmers, around 80 percent of the population, rely on agriculture, making them vulnerable to climate change, he said, adding that Cambodia had undertaken several climate change responses, including implementing the UN convention on climate change.

“We have also launched a major campaign of reforestation all over the country, with more than 49,000 hectares of trees planted,” he said.

The UN’s 64th General Assembly session comes as the world faces a series of challenges, from the global economic crisis to global warming, food security to terrorism and the threat of nuclear proliferation.

Hor Namhong’s speech focused on global issues, such as the Middle East, a denuclearized Korean peninsula and UN reform, avoiding the topic of human rights.

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