Cuba Reaffirms Rejection to Use of Food as Energy at UN
Havana, May 15 (acn) Cuba's ambassador to the United Nations, Rodrigo Malmierca, reaffirmed the country's position against the use of food crops as biofuels when more than two billion people across the world are starving.
The diplomat told high-level officials at a meeting of the UN Sustainable Development Commission that Cuba is committed to achieving the world goal to guarantee environmental sustainability, while explaining that the new energy strategy would create a devastating crisis in countries where more than 50 percent of the population depends on agriculture.
He mentioned variations in market supply and prices as well as a negative environmental impact, as some of the consequences that could result from turning food into biofuels, reported Granma newspaper.
Policies to solve the world's current energy crisis should not put people's food sovereignty at risk, nor worsen the world's ecological situation, he added.
Malmierca pointed out that despite many environmental agreements and commitments, the global situation, characterized by inequity, poverty and the loss of natural resources, is actually getting worse.
"The environment continues to deteriorate and, to make things worse, recent statements by scientists confirm that the future of our planet is threatened by serious catastrophes from the effects of global warming," warned Malmierca.
He went on to say that the world's unequal and unfair economic and financial system is a negative factor that prevents implementation of sustainable development policies.
The industrialized nations, which cling to their unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, have promoted the waste of fossil fuels, the ambassador said. He added that this behavior has enormously increased the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.
The ambassador drew attention to Cuba's Energy Revolution, which he said is saving millions of dollars a year, while having a positive impact in the quality of life of the Cuban people.
The program included substituting all incandescent lighting and a massive replacement of inefficient types of home, business, industrial and transportation equipment.
ycr
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