An Action on Climate Change: Lebanon Takes a Stand

It’s been a while since I wrote a post on itsgettinghotinhere and it’s also been a bit of time since this action in Lebanon has happened. But none-the-less it’s an important action that happened a little over a month ago, in a little country that I call home, with an organization close to my heart.

So on July 8th, 2008 IndyAct, the League of Independent Activists, took to the beach in Beirut at six in the evening to demand their newly elected government do something about climate change. The event is apart of IndyAct’s Arab Climate Campaign, dedicated to pressuring their neighboring Arab countries take action.

As the first of many events to come, IndyAct gathered 75 activists, representing a multitude of organizations and civic society associations, and formed a human line in the face of rising sea levels as just one of the impacts of climate change. Their banner also read, “Unite in the Face of Climate Change,” reaching out to the decision-makers of Arab Nations and Lebanon to stop fighting amongst each other and unite in the fight against climate change which threatens Lebanon, the Arab region and the entire world.

In a statement to the media, Wael Hmaidan, Executive Director of the League said “Climate change threatens our security and our economy more than any political problem we have at home or abroad, but unfortunately it is not considered as a priority by any of the political parties in Lebanon.” He added “the absence of climate change on the priorities of all major political parties in Lebanon demonstrates either the inability of these parties to manage the country or their indifference to the threats facing its the people.”

A student from the American University of Beirut and dedicated IndyActivist also said to the Daily Star Press, “Lebanese and Arabs in general have a cultural tendency to not really care about large environmental issues, and don’t seem willing or prepared to deal with them, that is what this is all about,” he added, “influencing Lebanese and Arab society as a whole to take action.”

Therefore, IndyACT calls upon the new government to include climate change into its ministerial statement. The organization also offered to help President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Fuad Siniora to develop an action plan to combat this serious problem to ensure the interests of Lebanon in particular and the Arab States and the world in general.

And what a better organization to do just that, with such capable, experienced, and dedicated young people on the ground, concerned for their future and for the world. I guarantee there will be more from them, featured here in the future.

About Shadia

Shadia began at age seven as an advocate for justice and the environment, in an eight year campaign to pass state legislation that, without it, was responsible for cancer clusters and deaths that existed in her community. In response to her efforts she has received the Yoshiyama Award from the Hitachi Foundation, and the Brower Youth Award from the Earth Island Institute. At age fifteen, She attended the World Summit on Sustainable Development, joining the youth energy caucus' efforts to create the Official Global Youth Energy Policy Statement. Months later, Shadia attended the Second National People of Color Summit and there she helped create the Environmental Justice Youth Platform. She is a member of the Environmental Justice Climate Coalition Youth Committee and is on the Kids Against Pollution National Board of Trustees. Shadia graduated from West Canada Valley High School in 2005, where she then took two years off before entering a career in higher education to work as a leader in the Global Youth Climate Movement. She finished working for the EJCC as the youngest Campus Climate Challenge Coordinator in the Energy Action Coalition, in October 2007. She is currently attending American University of Beirut, studying Arabic and Communications.

It’s Getting Hot In Here