United Nations: Must Be United On Climate Change Issue, US Needs To Take It Seriously

George McGinn - AHN Editor

AHN - February 12, 2008 12:16 a.m. EST

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New York, NY (AHN) - United Nations Assembly President Srgjan Kerim asked the General Assembly a question: "Are we willing to change our lifestyles and patterns of behavior?"

United Nations leaders need to map out an agreement by the end of 2009 limiting global greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to the impact of climate change, and provide the money and technology necessary to do so, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the General Assembly today.

Kerim and the speakers at the United Nation's General Assembly's debate: "Addressing climate change: The United Nations and the world at work" say that change must cross-cultural and economic barriers. Climate Change is not just an American, or a Chinese or Indian problem. It is a world problem.

Ban said the eyes of the world are "on us" since their meeting in Bali 10 months ago.

"No the real work begins. The challenge is huge. We have less than two years to craft an agreement on what science tells us," Ban said to a packed assembly hall.

And if 2007 was the year that Climate Change rose to the top international priority, Ban said then 2008 the United Nations must take concerted action.

"A deal in Copenhagen, on time, and in full, is my priority and that of all the Funds, Programs and Agencies of the United Nations family," he said, referring to the United Nations Climate Change Conference scheduled for December 2009 in Denmark. "It is also our collective obligation."

Ban said the United Nations aimed to develop a coordinated structure to help stimulate financial flows needed for adaptation, mitigation and climate-resilient development, as well as support developing countries' need to manage the inevitable impact of climate change.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said all the major cities in the world and the UN need to alter their policy and make a serious commitment to change.

Although he called it a "precondition" for the Copenhagen meeting in 2009, he spoke strongly about attitude in Washington.

"The first precondition for making the Copenhagen negotiation is the U.S. must finally set real and binding carbon reduction targets," Bloomberg said. "As long as there is no penalty or cost in producing greenhouse gases, there will be no incentive to meet such targets. And for that reason, I believe the U.S. should enact a tax on carbon emissions."

Bloomberg said others supported a "cap and trade system," an approach he believes would be less direct, therefore, less successful.

"But either alternative would be superior to our current status quo," he said. "Instituting either would mark a major and welcomed commitment to addressing climate change."

Bloomberg said he believes the American people are ready to accept their responsibility to lead by example.

"And our president and Congress has to start working together in a bipartisan fashion to make such leadership possible," he said.

Bloomberg said the carbon emission reductions should be both aggressive and reasonable.

"And here, the experience of New York City is instructive," he said. Bloomberg said NYC can reduce its carbon footprint by 30 percent by the year 2030. One example is requiring all New York City cabs to be hybrids.

In the afternoon, the delegates discussed its options and concerns.

Martin Khor, director of the Third World Network, agreed partnerships had to be based on solidarity, good faith, sincerity; however, he added that knowledge and activism were necessary as well. Nongovernmental organization community had a critial role to play in analyzing the problems caused by Climate Control and ensuring that those issues remained a top among governments.

Towards the end, the international community had come to a critical juncture and it was time now to agree on the partnerships that would be necessary to move forward. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was here to stay, as was the Kyoto Protocol, which should not be seen as expiring in 2012, since the architecture developed in Kyoto would be in play beyond then.

Khor expressed disappointment that the international funds, plans, and agencies were not ready to implement immediately. Khor stressed the need to keep the core issues of the Kyoto Protocol - adaptation, mitigation, finance, and technology - at the forefront of discussions and debates over new environmentally friendly development paths for the future.

However, from the beginning, Assembly President Srgjan Kerim said the United Nations could not do it alone. It needed to make partnerships with businesses, public-private relationships, and the media.

Vincente Perez, of Alternegy of Singapore and former Energy Minister of the Philippines, stressed the importance of new technology transfer in rural electrification programs from United Nations agencies. He proposed a new public-private partnership for such sustainable electrification initiatives. He said private companies should pay attention not only to cash flow, but also to their impact on the environment.

In summarizing the afternoon's discussion, despite the healthy debate, there were still more questions than answers. However, one thing that had become clear was that better governance, coherence and cooperation on climate change was urgent.

The current road map, though not yet fully developed, would hopefully lead to better coherence over time. In the meantime, though, the international community should continue to address development and environmental sustainability simultaneously and should provide vital tools, such as financing and technology, to ensure progress would be made.

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