Abuja — The Minister of Environment, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs.Halima Tayo Alao has described global warming as a calamity mankind must avert, not a future to accept.

A statement signed by the Special Assistant, Media to the Minister, Abayomi Adeniji and made available to Property and Environment yesterday, stated that the minister made the declaration at the Gleneagles Dialogue on Climate Change in Berlin, Germany.

The minister, in the statement decried the current situation in which over 1.6 billion people in developing countries are living without access to modern energy, yet the developed countries are withholding investment to develop "clean" energy.

That the minister lamented the long term effects of Global Warning in terms of Climate Change involving drought, melting polar caps arising sea surges and flooding, the minister stressed the need for capacity building in Climate Change Management.

That , Nigeria has been able to implement only one Clean Development Mecha-nism under the Kyoto Proto-col on Greenhouse Gases which include carbon Dioxide (C02) Methane (CH4) Nitro-gen Dioxide (N02) and some Hydroflouro-Carbons (HFCs).

She urged developed countries to display greater commitment to the targets of reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions to 1990 level by 2012.

The statement further stated that the ministerial level dialogue had in attendance representatives from nineteen countries, the Euro-pean Union Commission, Development Finance Insti-tution from Africa, Europe and Asia, sixteen International non-governmental organiza-tions and various UN agencies.

The Climate Change Dialogue in Berlin is follow-up of the G-8 meeting of 2005 where the participating countries expressed desire to explore the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol, living the United States and Australia not signing to the agreement of limit emissions.