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Yahoo News: Pressured by environmentalists, UN chief decries global warming
Ohmy News: U.N. Chief: Climate Change an 'Inescapable Reality'
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Yahoo News: Pressured by environmentalists, UN chief decries global warming


Gerard Aziakou- March 04, 2007


UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Responding to mounting pressure to speak out on climate change, UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said it represents as big a threat to mankind as war and vowed to raise the issue at a summit of rich nations in June.


Since a damning


United Nations report warned last month that global fossil fuel-related pollution would raise temperatures this century, melt polar ice and worsen floods, droughts and hurricanes, Ban had been urged by environmentalists to lead a drive for world action to roll back global warming.


In a speech to international high school students here, he said Thursday that "the danger posed by war to all of humanity -- and to our planet -- is at least matched by the climate crisis and global warming."


And he pledged to raise the issue at a summit of the Group of Eight (G8) group of major industrialized nations in Germany in June, saying failure to take decisive measures to combat climate change would place an appalling burden on succeeding generations.


"That would be an unconscionable legacy; one which we must all join hands to avert," he said. "As it stands, the damage already inflicted on our ecosystem will take decades, perhaps centuries, to reverse -- if we act now."


Referring to the G8 summit in Germany, Ban stressed that the task of tackling climate change was beyond the capacity of any one nation.


"These issues transcend borders," he said. "Only concerted and coordinated international action, supported and sustained by individual initiative, will be sufficient."


During an African tour in late January, Ban already underscored the UN's leading role in tackling climate change which he described as "a scientifically proven fact" and called for concrete measures to combat it.


In Nairobi, he met with UN Environment Programme (UNEP) chief Achim Steiner, who lobbied for a summit on climate change later this year.


Environmentalists hope to hold the meeting between the G8 summit and the next meeting in Bali of signatories to the Kyoto Protocol on global warming in December.


In his speech to the students, Ban reiterated that action on climate change would be one of his top priorities and welcomed a growing awareness of the issue in industrialized countries.


"In increasing numbers, decision makers are recognizing that the cost of inaction or delayed action will far exceed the short-term investments needed to address this challenge," he noted.


And alluding to the Oscar award for former US vice president

Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" late last month, Ban said it "suggests that, even amongst the broader public, climate change is no longer an 'inconvenient' issue, it is an inescapable reality."


"Now, each one of us also needs to commit to the search for solutions. We have to change the way we live, and rethink the way we travel and transact business," he added.


In the United States, which is responsible for 25 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, the Democratic-led Congress is preparing to draft legislation to combat climate change.


Democratic lawmakers have also accused Republican

President George W. Bush's administration of muzzling government-employed climatologists.


Bush has continued to favor an approach based on voluntary measures, believing that imposing reductions could have disastrous economic consequences.


But alarm about the perils of global warming has been growing among US scientists, business people and some individual states.


California, the most populous and most economically influential US state, recently decided to impose a carbon-dioxide emissions reduction.


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Ohmy News: U.N. Chief: Climate Change an 'Inescapable Reality'


Hamdhoon Rashad - March 06, 2007


The world has reached a critical stage in its efforts to exercise responsible environmental stewardship, says U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. He made the comments in his keynote address to the 31st United Nations International School-United Nations (UNIS-UN) Conference on "Global Warming: Confronting the Crisis" in New York.


The secretary general said that despite our best intentions and some admirable efforts to date, degradation of the global environment continues unabated, and the world's natural resource base is being used in an unsustainable manner.


Ban Ki-moon went on to add that, "Climate change was no longer an 'inconvenient' issue, rather, it was an inescapable reality."


Over the last few years, significant changes in the Earth's temperature have been the main concern worldwide. Instability in the environment and variability in the Earth's atmosphere and oceans have become a major threat to our life. From collapsing ice sheets to violent hurricanes, global warming is shaping our modern world today -- in its own way.


"The effects of climate change are being felt around the world. The latest assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has established a strong link between human activity and climate change," Ban said. "The Panel's projections suggest that all countries will feel the adverse impact. But, it is the poor -- in Africa, small island developing States and elsewhere -- who will suffer most, even though they are the least responsible for global warming."


"That is why action on climate change will be one of my top priorities as secretary general," Ban said. "I am encouraged to know that, in the industrialized countries from which leadership is most needed, awareness is growing. In increasing numbers, decision makers are recognizing that that the cost of inaction or delayed action will far exceed the short-term investments needed to address this challenge."


How the problem of global warming will be solved remains unanswered. Whether it will be through a grassroots movement or through public policy, only time will tell. "Global warming is an issue of particular urgency today. Before it is too late, we must take action for taking measures beyond 2012, when it expires. Therefore, it needs concerted action by the governments, by the international organizations led by the United Nations, and also by active support and awareness -- enhance the awareness by civic groups like NGOs. This will not be done by a single country, a single individual --- but we need to have all concerted actions, including yourselves," Ban said after a press conference following the UNIS-UN Conference.


Ban emphasized that much more must also be done by governments, business and civil society. "I would urge all of you, and leaders of civic communities, environmentalists, to try your best efforts to enhance the awareness of the urgency and importance of this issue, so that the policy makers of the international community will take this issue more seriously," he said.


"The United Nations has initiated a very important framework convention, known as U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change [UNFCCC] - that is the central multilateral framework combat climate change. The UN has a role to raise awareness, agree on common agendas and concerns and enhance international cooperation, particularly towards vulnerable countries -- to both mitigate causes and abate the adverse effects of the climate change. We will continue to do so, by adopting decisions on policy options and possible actions to be taken on a priority basis," the U.N. secretary general said.


He added that as the secretary general, he has also presided over two or three policy committee meetings with all his senior advisers to discuss these matters. Ban also said that he has begun consultation on issues concerning climate change with the leaders of the major international players, including the General Assembly.


"When I attend the G-8 Summit meeting in June, which will be held in Germany, I will also very seriously discuss this matter with global leaders," he said.


"The world needs a more coherent system of international environmental governance. We need to invest more in green technologies and smarter policies. And we need to do far more to adapt to global warming and its effects," he said.


"There are growing opportunities for innovative businesses to spur progress and innovation through products that push all of us onto more sustainable paths. But, our efforts should focus particularly on the needs of the poor, who already suffer disproportionately from pollution, disasters and the degradation of resources and land. In particular, plans to implement the Millennium Development Goals should address the added risks posed by climate change."


The U.N. secretary general added that he is strongly committed to ensuring that the United Nations helps the international community make the transition to sustainable practices. Meanwhile, he said, the U.N. is preparing for a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Bali in December and the U.N. family is mobilizing all its efforts to address the many challenges posed by global warming. Ban assured that he plans to strengthen this work further.


The annual UNIS-U.N. Conference, organized by UNIS students, addressed issues concerning climate change and its effect on the political, environmental and economic sectors of the world. The two-day conference, attended by more than 600 students from all across the world, also highlighted on the causes and consequences of climate change, as well as the alternative methods of mitigating it.

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