President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the Copenhagen climate conference that Marxism and capitalism had failed to address all of the world’s problems and fundamental changes were needed to move forward.
He blamed the failure of the talks on the USA’s refusal to compromise, saying the energy needed to drive the engines of capitalism was the primary cause of climate change.
“Those who pollute the most are the most demanding,” he said.
“They are not prepared to reduce the astronomical income they’re earning from this disaster.”
He said Muslims had a religious duty to protect the environment, with the natural world being God’s greatest blessing to humanity.
His proposed solution to the current climate crisis was two-pronged.
First, he said that all countries should re-direct 10% of their military spend into a global environmental fund, which would dwarf the financial figures discussed at the conference.
Next, he said that restrictions on the deployment of nuclear energy should be loosened so that almost all states had access to this ‘clean’ form of energy, allowing fossil fuels to be used for other purposes such as producing pharmaceuticals and other useful products.
Sam Bond