Syrian crisis making it hard to meet climate deal, Lebanese official says

The Syrian crisis has had a “major adverse impact” on Lebanon’s “water resources, land and accordingly the sea, let alone those that have drowned in the Mediterranean” as a result of the fighting in Syria, said Minister of the Environment Mohammed Machnouk.

He said his country is doing its best as a signatory to the Paris agreement and other environmental commitments under the United Nations. But those efforts are “the bright picture” that has been “darkened by two bitter truths,” he said.

First, $856.4 million in compensation for a major 2006 oil spill on the Lebanese coast has not been paid, he said. The spill was caused by Israeli Defense Forces’ jets firing on an oil-fired power plant south of Beirut, during the brief conflict between the two countries. The United Nations passed a resolution that directed Israel to compensate Lebanon for the spill.

Second is the impact of the Syrian crisis on the country’s environment, which is costing the small Eastern Mediterranean nation tens of millions of dollars, Machnouk said.

Machnouk was addressing the third annual Our Oceans Conference at the State Department. He made his remarks ahead of President Obama’s keynote address. Most other dignitaries used their time to remark on the positive efforts they are making on conservation to save the oceans. Machnouk was one of the only dignitaries to use his time to offer a critical look at the pressures countries in the region are facing to balance the Syrian conflict with their international obligations to protect the environment.

“If we really want to save the Mediterranean, I think those two points need to be supported by the international community,” Machnouk said. “This might sound political, it is actually political, but then most of our decisions are taken at the political level including our ocean protection.”