Bandar Seri Begawan - His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office, attended climate change talks with other leaders of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in Trinidad and Tobago, which also saw the proposed creation of a US$30 billion fund to help developing countries combat climate change.

As His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam's personal representative to the Chogm in Trinidad and Tobago's capital city of Port of Spain, His Royal Highness joined 50 leaders in a special session on climate change, the Commonwealth summit's agenda for the first day on Friday.

Accompanying His Royal Highness was Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Abdul Qawi.

Prior to the session, His Royal Highness attended the opening ceremony of Chogm, which Queen Elizabeth 11 officiated at the National Academy of the Performing Arts, according to a press statement from the Prime Minister's Office issued yesterday.

Queen Elizabeth II said in her opening remarks that the Commonwealth has an opportunity to lead once mom before the UN Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change.

The Chogm biennial summit, attended by leaders from former British colonies, dependencies and other territories, is the last major meeting before the UN Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change from December 7-18.

For the first time, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon attended a Commonwealth summit. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen of Denmark, who will chair the UN-sponsored talks next month, also attended the special session on climate change.

The queen added that climate change was a global challenge which would continue to affect the security and stability of millions for years to come.

"Many of those affected are among the most vulnerable, and many of the people least well able to withstand the adverse effects of climate change live in the Commonwealth," she said.

Founded in 1931, the Commonwealth has a combined population of 1.8 billion.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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