World leaders call for swift action against climate change

Abu Dhabi: The world is running out of time in its fight against climate change and countries should act swiftly and decisively, world leaders said in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

"Talks on climate change are not like trade or disarmament talks that could go on year after year in endless negotiations. We cannot cut a deal with mother nature," Mohammad Nasheed, President of the Maldives, said on the first day of the World Future Energy Summit.

"Low-lying countries like Maldives will slip beneath the rising sea within this century unless global efforts are undertaken to tackle climate change," he said.

Karolos Papoulias, President of Greece, said renewable energy will play a pivotal role in bringing about energy democracy in the world and increasing energy security.

Cooperation is the key

Crown Prince Frederik André Henrik Christian of Denmark, said: "Renewable energy will be as defining for this decade as internet was for the last decade."

Crown Prince Felipe De Borbón Y Grecia of Spain called for better international cooperation. "More multilateral agreements and cooperation is required since the issue of green house gases is not just limited to any particular country.

Countries will have to come together to ward off threats caused by global warming and climate change through their commitments to cleaner, renewable sources of energy, said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, chief executive of Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company).

Al Jaber said through Masdar initiative, Abu Dhabi wants to promote global cooperation and dialogue in renewables and "push renewable energy to a new frontier."

Do you think countries around the world are becoming more serious about future energy? Can we completely rely on alternative energy?