OSAMA BIN LADEN has intervened in the debate on climate change, showing a new-found interest in green issues, in a video speech marking the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

In his first video appearance since 2004, the Al-Qaeda leader blamed western “capitalist corporations” for global warming which he said was leading to the “death and displacement of millions of human beings”, especially in Africa.

The 26-minute video, broadcast on the Al-Jazeera television network, appeared to be intended to show that Bin Laden was still alive. However, experts pointed out that unlike previous Al-Qaeda videos, it offered no explicit threat against America or other western countries.

The video was more likely designed to remind people of the terror of 9/11 and to lecture the American people on the alleged folly of President Bush’s war in Iraq, experts said.

With his new talk appealing to western concerns about global warming, “insane taxes and real estate mortgages”, Bin Laden appeared to be trying to reposition himself.

Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of the Al-Quds newspaper in London, said: “He would like to say, ‘I am not the old Bin Laden, I am the new, mature Bin Laden, I am the spiritual leader of Al-Qaeda’.”

The terror leader’s interest in green issues caused some surprise. “The life of all of mankind is in danger because of the global warming resulting to a large degree from the emissions of the factories of the major corporations. Yet despite that, the representative of these corporations in the White House insists on not observing the Kyoto accord,” Bin Laden intoned.

The consensus was that the video was genuine but officials were perplexed by Bin Laden’s trademark beard, which seemed to have been dyed black since his last video outing.

“Nice beard, plenty of Grecian 2000,” noted one analyst.

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