President Mahinda Rajapaksa today charged that some of the developed nations are now a major challenge to all of humanity.

“The path taken by some of the developed nations to reach their present status has not always been sustainable, environmentally friendly or even ethical. The crises such as the grave depletion of energy resources environmental damage and disparities in sharing of energy resources were the results of these actions. The harmful path taken by these developed nations is now a major challenge to all of humanity,” the President said.

Addressing the World Energy Forum in Dubai today, the President also said that “…Today, Asia is fast awakening reaching great milestones in economic growth. In the last two decades alone Asia has pulled more people out of poverty than at any other time in human history. This was done by creating favourable conditions for rapid economic growth. However, the scarcity of energy resources would obstruct this upward mobility of Asian countries.”
He also said that the developing countries should be encouraged to make correct choices in determining alternative energy resources most beneficial for all in the long term.

“Countries must bear in mind that in this search for alternative energy sources agricultural land of today and tomorrow must not be used. We must not let the hunger of alternative energy lead to an increase in hunger for food. The use of food crops for fuel production must be avoided to prevent the spread of today’s threat to food security caused by turning food crops into fuel crops. The food energy for peoples’ lives should not be made the driving energy for cars,” he said.