Libya set to join Paris climate treaty: PM Dbeibah

Libyan PM Abdul Hamid Dbeibah explained that the Government of National Unity made its choice to join the treaty 'with pride and responsibility'.
2 min read
07 June, 2021
Abdul Hamid Dbeibah's reported remarks on the climate follow a Saturday military engagement [STRINGER/AFP/Getty]

Libya is set to join the 2015 Paris climate treaty after parliamentary approval, the nation's premier revealed on Sunday.

Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah's reported remarks were covered by state TV, according to the Anadolu Agency.

Dbeibah noted: "Libya is one of the few countries that has not signed the Paris Climate Agreement, and the Government of National Unity has today decided to sign it with pride and responsibility."

The announcement came when the PM attended a World Environment Day event, saying the nation's parliament will be asked to consent to the move.

The PM argued that Libya's location and weather mean it is one of the worst-hit by the consequences of climate breakdown.

Joining the treaty means Libya will pledge to lower carbon emissions to keep global temperature rises down to two-degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Analysis
Live Story

In 2017, Donald Trump famously withdrew the US from the deal.

He suggested that it was "unfair at the highest level to the United States", The Hill reported at the time.

However, the current US president, Joe Biden, brought Washington back into the treaty soon after his inauguration at the start of 2021.

This latest news on the climate front comes after Dbeibah's recent military engagement.

He addressed the graduation of over 400 military trainees on Saturday, alongside other senior figures, The Libya Observer reported.

The prime minister also holds the defence brief.

The graduation for members of the air force took place in the western city of Misrata.

Also in attendance were officials including Abdullah Al-Lafi, who is the army's supreme commander, and other security and political officials.

In a further military-related development on Sunday, a car bomb killed two from the nation's security services, AFP reported.

A further five were injured in the blast, which occurred in Sebha, a city in the southwest, according to an unnamed police insider.

Sebha is run by armed supporters of the Libyan warlord General Khalifa Haftar.

While Dbeibah described the occurrence as a "cowardly terrorist act" on Twitter, no party has claimed the bombing, according to AFP.