Energy analyst Gürbüz: Preachers of Iraq and Libya were not present in Durban

Interview published at Today's Zaman... (19 December 2011)

A Turkish journalist who has been working on issues related to energy and the environment for the last 20 years, and who was at the Durban climate talks as an observer, said it was instructive to see once more how some developed countries like to lecture the world when it comes to democratic development -- in countries like Iraq and Libya which posses good oil reserves -- but remain silent and short-sighted when there are no material gains.

“Millions of people in the least developed countries are threatened by natural disasters, water scarcity, drought, emigration and so on. They are not responsible for climate change but they are the most vulnerable,” said Özgür Gürbüz, who was at the climate conference as an observer for the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, an independent German civil society organization.

“They do not want money nor do they beg for mercy. They want to secure their future and demand equality,” he added.

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