Sead Elgezawi from the World Islamic Call Society said Muslims could take part in a green revolution to replenish nature and educate people on the importance of protecting the environment.

Addressing the international conference on Muslim action on climate change, he said many verses in the Koran promoted an environmentally friendly lifestyle.

“The majority of Muslims are unaware or uninterested in environmental issues even though millions of them worldwide suffer every year from a lack of natural resources,” Elgezawi said.

He said Muslims should get involved and work with Western countries that had invested significantly into research.

“We have to join hands and work together for the sake of humanity such that we leave this world in better shape than we found it for the next generation. There is no alternative,” he said.

The two-day conference, attended by 200 participants from 15 countries, will attempt to formulate concrete steps Muslims can take to tackle climate change.

The first Muslim climate conference held in Kuwait City in 2008 declared a seven-year action plan.

The action plan included initiatives to set up green haj, environmentally friendly mosques and publications of the Koran using paper from sustainable forests.

The action plan being drafted envisions that future haj would be free of plastic bottles.

Environmental expert Emil Salim questioned why many Muslim-majority countries had bad environmental records and were impoverished despite huge oil reserves. Indonesia, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are home to more than 40 percent of the world’s Muslims. None of these countries are net exporters of oil.

He said Muslim countries also needed a paradigm shift in development by promoting environmental aspects rather than focusing on boosting economic growth.

Emil, who is also advisor to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on environmental and sustainable development, said the surface air temperature in Indonesia increased by 0.5 degree Celsius during the 20th century and predicted an increase by 2 degree Celsius by 2070.

He said climate change was also responsible for raising sea levels, leading to frequent floods and erosion of the coastline.

Founding director of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Science, Fazlun Khalid, said Muslims could support government policies on climate change through real action.

“[Climate change] is the only competition where everyone can win,” he said.

Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said the conference should serve as a milestone to increase cooperation among Muslim-majority countries in the world on climate change.

“It is time for us to conserve our environment based on Islamic perspectives and theology,” Gusti said in a speech read by Henry Bastaman, the deputy for communication and public empowerment at the ministry.