DUBAI (AP)--U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the world to summon the political courage to tackle climate change and invest more in alternative energy sources.
Speaking after recieving a top environmental prize, Annan told oil-rich countries that they could retain their leadership of world energy markets only by investing in new products that cause less environmental damage.
"We need to stop being so economically defensive, and start being more politically courageous," Annan told an audience of representatives of nearly 160 countries, including about 125 environment ministers.
"Action on climate change is particularly urgent. Scientists largely agree that without major policy changes in the next few years, we face a future filled with danger," said Annan.
He had just accepted the Zayed International Prize for the Environment after the opening of a three-day U.N. Environment Program conference. Annan said he would use the $500,000 prize money to start a foundation in Africa for agriculture and girls' education.
The prize, named after the founding president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who died in 2004, is the world's biggest award for environmental achievement. It was awarded to Annan for his support for U.N. summits and reports on environmental issues.
Annan praised Dubai as one of the "world's great economic miracles" that understood the efficient use of scarce resources, saying it has an impressive standard of living despite deriving 90% of its export income from oil.
But, he said, too little effort was being expended on oil conservation.
"All humankind must get the maximum benefit from every barrel, gallon or liter (of oil) consumed, much as we try to do with water, where 'more crop per drop' is our mantra," he said.
The United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is one of seven city-states, does not have a good record on the environment. Its residents generate some of the world's highest per-capita levels of household waste, as well as high levels of water and fossil fuel consumption. And some of Dubai's grandiose construction projects have damaged mountain and reef environments.
Annan called on oil producing countries to look beyond the era of fossil fuels and develop viable uses for solar and wind energy and biofuel.
"The soaring demand for oil is concentrating the minds of the world as never before," he said. "Today's high oil prices make the economic and environmental arguments even more mutually supportive."
Annan said environmental protection requires long-term planning, but that short-term election cycles and corporate profit decisions were wreaking havoc on the natural world. He called for urgent cuts in emissions, while preparing to help low-income people adapt to the inevitable changes in the global climate.
"The carbon-based economy is like an uncontrolled experiment with the global climate, with serious risks for ecosystems, business and human health," Annan said.
