KENYA: Britains environment minister visits Kenya slum, urges Bush to accept greenhouse gas emissions cuts

Britain's environment minister David Miliband toured Africa's biggest slum on the outskirts of Nairobi on Tuesday (November 14) while in Kenya for a UN climate conference. He was shown around the area by UN Habitat Executive-Director Anna Tibaijuka and other UN officials. Miliband toured schools, walked past open sewers running through the slum, inspected water pipes and stalls selling charcoal, bananas or beans. Many young Swahili-speaking children, showing off their English, chanted "How are you!" Miliband said the world faced a massive challenge to help Africa overcome poverty and global warming. For slum residents, the demands were concrete. "We would like some changes, more changes in terms of new upgraded houses, and this environment." said James Muyoma a Kibera resident. Miliband said the 189-nation talks in Nairobi should seek ways to widen the U.N.-led fight against global warming to all nations, including the United States, after a first period of the Kyoto Protocol runs out in 2012. "Well, I think the conference faces three tests - can it deliver adaptation for Africa, can it promote technology transfer to developing countries and can it start the process towards a global binding emissions reductions agreement that involves every country in the world including the United States and every country in the world." The UN Habitat Executive Director said Africa faced more hurdles in the immediate future that were hampering basic development. "The future of Africa rests on two things - one of course we have to prevail over HIV/AIDS and this settlement is suffering a lot, and when that is done we have to sort out this chaotic urbanisation that is taking place," said Anna Tibaijuka. U.S. President George W. Bush pulled out of Kyoto in 2001, saying that its caps on emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly from burning fossil fuels, would cost US jobs and that the scheme wrongly excluded developing nations from the goals for 2012. Kyoto binds 35 industrialised nations to cut emissions of greenhouse gases to 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12 as a first step to slow rising temperatures that could spur heatwaves, floods, rising sea levels and a spread of disease. The minister said that a bipartisan approach was needed in the United States because the US Senate voted 95-0 against the principles of the Kyoto Protocol under former President Bill Clinton. Miliband said that the world should agree by 2009 on ways to extend the Kyoto Protocol. Nairobi is unlikely, however, to set any deadlines. POVERTY

ITN Source | November 14, 2006

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