BEIRUT: The Arab Climate Network will take its first step this week in creating a united Arab policy on climate change, as network co-founder Wael Hmaidan leaves for Jordan to talk with environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) about joining the network. Hmaidan, the executive director of NGO IndyAct, will travel from Morocco to Bahrain during the coming six months to get regional NGOs - and their countries' governments - on board with the platform backed by environmental groups worldwide to fight the effects of climate change, he told The Daily Star on Monday.

The network's plans for 2008 will focus largely on getting the Arab League to sign on to plans for cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions and developing renewable energy, at an extraordinary league session at the end of the year dedicated to development and economic issues, he added.

Hmaidan and the NGOs will face considerable obstacles in making Arabs environmentally friendly, with many Arab countries explicitly reluctant to reduce the world's dependence on oil. A 2006 study ranked Saudi Arabia as the nation with the world's worst policies and positions on climate change, Hmaidan said.

Saudi Arabia was "one of the most destructive countries" during negotiations over the Kyoto Protocol, as the Saudis proposed linking implementation of emissions cuts to compensation for countries which extract fossil fuels.

"It's worse than the US," he said. "If you look at who's hindering a serious climate agreement, it's Saudi Arabia.

"What they're not ready to accept is the loss of political power they will face if the world will not be addicted to their oil," Hmaidan added.

Aside from political and economic concerns, the fledgling network also wants to make Arab people, not just NGOs and bureaucrats, aware of the importance of climate issues, Hmaidan said.

For example, the United Arab Emirates leaves the world's largest carbon footprintGreen-Fad-and-the-Economy Nov-07 , consuming more natural resources per capita than any other nation, according to a 2004 report by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature.

Aside from the damage being done by people here to the environment, the region also stands to suffer greatly form the expected effects of climate change, Hmaidan said. The Middle East scarce water supply could well dry up further and strike a blow to the agricultural sector, he added.

"It's going to have a very big effect on the Middle East," said Layla al-Zubaidi, director of the Middle East office of the Heinrich Boll Foundation, which is paying for some of the network's travel expenses. "There's going to be less water, really severe consequences."

Against that bleak backdrop, the NGOs of the Arab Climate Network will endeavor to have the Arab League endorse policies such as stabilizing greenhouse-gas emissions by 2015 and cutting them by 50-80 percent by 2050, Hmaidan said.

These goals tie in to the latest round of global negotiations in climate change, known as the Bali accord. In Bali, nations agreed to draft a text of a climate agreement by 2009, which would come into effect if enough nations ratify the deal by 2012.

Bali is "our last chance to actually have a global commitment to solving climate change," Hmaidan said. "If by 2012 we don't get a treaty, we'll not be able to stabilize greenhouse-gas emissions by 2015. We need to stabilize greenhouse gases by 2015 ... to avoid catastrophic impacts. We still have time to avoid catastrophic climate-change impacts."

Hmaidan helped establish the Arab Climate Network with the idea that Arab NGOs, pushing a unified agenda, can have greater influence on their governments than each NGO working alone and independently, he said. In addition, if the network of NGOs convince Arab League to adopt their agenda for Bali, that would add 23 countries to those supporting the treaty and enhance its chances for acceptance, he added.

"What we've realized is that to really influence the Arab League's position on climate change, we can't work alone," Hmaidan said. "We need the policy of the Arab world to change, to make sure that they adopt or push the right content."

"There aren't enough NGOs working on climate change," he added. "In Africa there are more people working on climate policy than in the Arab world

Some 10 NGOs have expressed an interest in the network, and Hmaidan hopes to approach 30 to 40 Arab NGOs during the next six months, he said.

In addition to raising awareness of climate issues and lobbying governments, the network also aims to share expertise on the issues with Arab civil society and civil servants, he added.

With those statistics and facts, the network hopes to get the Arab League at least to accept responsibility for addressing climate change.

The Kyoto Protocol gave developing nations such as Arab countries a free pass, requiring emissions cuts only for developed nations. The network, however, wants Arab states to acknowledge their role in climate change, in order that they could then move to cut emissions, tax fossil fuels or encourage other developing nations to lessen their carbon footprints, Hmaidan added.