Malaysia takes the lead

The Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial meeting on September 8 and 9 at Sydney, Australia have invited criticism from Malaysian Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz when the host country stressed that issue on climate change will be at the top of the meeting’s agenda. Mr. Aziz questioned the credential of Australia and US to lead the discussion on the subject. Australia, and US, refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol because they claim that the protocol does not include major developing economies and unfairly punishes energy- rich countries.
“It is unfortunate that people who are talking about climate change like America are not even members of the Kyoto Protocol” the trade minister said.
“If you want to talk about climate change, please join in with the rest of the global community to make commitments about managing climate change” she further stressed.
The commentary from Malaysia could be seconded by many other countries which could pose a threat to Australia and US. The burden of proving their capacities and interest in fighting climate change lies on Australia and America. These countries should present and defend their actions, other than those set by the Kyoto Protocol, to win the confidence of other nations.
It can be recalled that America is the largest producer of carbon dioxide while Australia is a major coal exporter. These facts could lead a conclusion that profit is the above priority of these countries rather than the environment.