LONDON (AFP) — Queen Elizabeth II made rare comments on the environment as she issued her Commonwealth Day message Monday, calling for more action to meet rhetoric on tackling climate change.
The 81-year-old monarch, who heads the 53-nation global body of mainly former British colonies, said countries that pollute the least -- particularly the least-developed nations -- are often the worst affected by climate change.
"If we recognise the interests and needs of the people who are most affected, we can work with them to bring about lasting change," she said in a statement issued by the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.
Commonwealth leaders who met in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, last November, put tackling climate change high on their agenda, as some member states, like Tuvalu, in the Pacific Ocean, are under threat from rising sea levels.
Among other member states, the Maldives are also at risk from higher tides, Canada's tundra is thawing, the desert is encroaching in northern Nigeria and Bangladesh's lowlands are flooding.
The leaders did not commit to binding targets for reducing countries' greenhouse gas emissions, but called for the Bali summit, which was held soon afterwards, to work towards long-term carbon reduction goals.
The Commonwealth, which represents some two billion people, nearly a third of world's population, has made 2008 its year to highlight environmental problems and the need to tackle them.
The queen, whose son and heir Prince Charles, has been the most outspoken royal on green issues, said the Commonwealth should support efforts to improve air quality, fresh water provision and sustainable energy for the future.
"In the Commonwealth, governments, businesses, communities and individuals should each strive to match words and good intentions with deeds," she added.
"Every contribution has a part to play. Whatever we do, wherever we live, our actions in defence of the environment can have a real and positive effect upon the lives of others, today and in the future."
The outgoing Commonwealth secretary-general, Don McKinnon, picked up the theme in his message, ahead of celebrations involving the monarch and representatives from member states at London's Westminster Abbey later Monday.
Calling for a "fundamental change" in attitude and behaviour towards the environment, he said climate considerations should be part of every aspect of government policy and financing to help future generations.
Richer countries had obligations to help poorer nations both financially and technologically, but change towards creating low-carbon economies needed to be consistently applied across the globe, he added.
"To bequeath a barren and polluted landscape is to disinherit (coming generations) ... to carry on unchanged is not an option," he said.
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