His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday called on the international community to bear its responsibility to protect the future of humanity by combating climate change.

In a speech at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen delivered by His Royal Highness Prince Hamzah, King Abdullah stressed Jordan's support for international efforts to arrive at a just, fair and effective agreement.

“We will be effective partners in implementing the recommendations and agreements that have international consensus,” the King said in the speech, underlining the need for global environmental protection efforts.

The King emphasised that adapting to the impact of climate change requires industrial countries to allocate additional financial resources and expressed hope that the allocations will meet the basic needs of developing countries that are most affected by the phenomenon.

Stressing that Jordan is a committed international partner in confronting climate change, the King cited some of Jordan's environmental goals, such as efforts to increase renewable energy's contribution to the Kingdom's energy mix to 10 per cent by 2020.

King Abdullah said that Arab countries are considered among the nations most affected by climate change, which is straining scarce water resources and accelerating desertification.

Jordan currently faces an acute water shortage, and is one of the poorest countries in the world, he pointed out. The Kingdom's per capita share of water amounts to around 143 cubic metres annually. That number is expected to drop to 90 cubic metres by 2025, the King told the summit.

King Abdullah also called for building upon the Kyoto Protocol by achieving a greater reduction in gas emissions.

Prince Hamzah is chairing the Jordanian delegation to the summit, which also comprises Environment Minister Hazem Malhas, the ministry's secretary general, Fares Juneidi, and the Kingdom's non-resident Ambassador to Denmark Eisa Ayoub.