UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Czech President Vaclav Klaus sharply criticized a U.N. meeting on climate change on Tuesday at which U.S. President Barack Obama was among the top speakers, describing it as propagandistic and undignified.
"It was sad and it was frustrating," said Klaus, one of the world's most vocal skeptics on the topic of global warming.
"It's a propagandistic exercise where 13-year-old girls from some far-away country perform a pre-rehearsed poem," he said. "It's simply not dignified."
At the opening of the summit attended by nearly 100 world leaders, 13-year-old Yugratna Srivastava of India told the audience that governments were not doing enough to combat the threat of climate change.
Klaus said there were increasing doubts in the scientific community about whether humans are causing changes in the climate or whether the changes are simply naturally occurring phenomena.
But politicians, he said, seem to be moving closer to a consensus on climate change.
"The train can't be stopped and I consider that a huge mistake," Klaus said.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon organized the climate summit to help create momentum before a U.N. meeting in Copenhagen in December to reach agreement on new targets for reducing so-called greenhouse gas emissions.
However, new proposals by China and a rallying cry from U.S. President Barack Obama did little to break a U.N. deadlock about what should be done.
Klaus published a book in 2007 on the worldwide campaign to stop climate change entitled "Blue Planet in Green Chains: What Is Under Threat -- Climate or Freedom?"
In the book, Klaus said global warming has turned into a new religion, an ideology that threatens to undermine freedom and the world's economic and social order.
I like this guy.
The people of the Czech Republic are fortunate to have an intelligent president when addressing the issues of climate change and global warming fraud. If only we could also be so fortunate.
Guys I respect your opinion but you should know that Mr. Klaus illegaly blocks legislation passed by both houses of the czech parliament on Lisbon treaty. Under the czech constitution the president has ceremonial role and is obliged to sign legislations passed by the parliament with no right of veto. In an unprecedented move Mr. Klaus is simply abusing a loophole in the constitution that doesn't specify any time limmit for the president to sign the legislation. So much for his adherence to "freedom" when he's effectively installing a presidential regime in his own country. A very bold move when
- president is not elected by popular vote but by a simple majority in both houses of parliament
- he owes his second term to votes of communist MPs
- according to opinion poll majority of czech people approve the treaty
It is also worthy of mentioning that this "crusader against communism" celebrated 60th anniversary of chinese communists seizing power (http://zpravy.idnes.cz/klaus-filip-i-vlcek-slavili-u-cinanu-vitezstvi-komunistu-pm0-/domaci.asp?c=A090930_211113_domaci_mmb)
When he was in power back in 90's (as a prime minister) he was known as an arrogant politician.
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