Ban Ki-moon Adresses Climate Change in Copenhagen
New York, Oct 26 2009 5:10PM
As just over one month remains before nations converge in Copenhagen to ‘seal the deal’ on a new climate change agreement, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has laid out his four benchmarks for success at the negotiations in the Danish capital.
Firstly, he
wrote in an opinion piece in the New York Times
published yesterday, every country – developed and
developing – must do all it can to slash emissions from
all sources, including deforestation and
shipping.
“A successful deal must strengthen the
world’s ability to cope with an already changing
climate,” Mr. Ban added, stressing that “support for
adaptation is not only an ethical imperative; it is a smart
investment in a more stable, secure world.”
Thirdly,
any deal must be backed by funding to allow poorer countries
to transition to a low-carbon economy.
Lastly, the
Secretary-General wrote, nations must agree on an equitable
global governance structure. “All countries must have a
voice in how resources are deployed and managed. That is how
trust will be built.”
Despite the gridlock at the
last round of climate change negotiations held in Bangkok,
Thailand, earlier this month, “the elements of a deal are
on the table,” he underscored.
All that is needed to
put them in place is political will, Mr. Ban said. “We
need to step back from narrow national interest and engage
in frank and constructive discussion in a spirit of global
common cause.”
The leadership of the United States
in this endeavour, he said, is vital, noting that he is
encouraged by last week’s bipartisan initiative in the US
Senate.
“We cannot afford another period where the
United States stands on the sidelines,” Mr. Ban
emphasized, adding that an “indecisive or insufficiently
engaged” US will result in unnecessary and unaffordable
delays in tackling global warming.
With the last round
of negotiations before the start of the Copenhagen
conference kicking off next week in Barcelona, Spain, “we
are now at a rather critical juncture,” Janos Pasztor,
Director of the Secretary-General’s Climate Change Support
Team, told reporters today in New York.
There is a
flurry of activity in the world’s capitals, with this uptick in activity
expected to continue during the final stretch before the
December summit, he said. “This is a good development as
it is only governments who can make the deal and bring us
success in Copenhagen.”
When leaders assemble in
Denmark, they have the ability to “deliver an agreement on
a range of fast-track implementation measures for which
credible resources are needed and which governments need to
make available,” Mr. Pasztor stated.
The
Secretary-General, he said, is serving as a “neutral
broker” among all 192 UN Member States, pressing for an
ambitious multilateral deal to ensure that global
temperature increases remain within safe
levels.
ENDS