The 60th Annual DPI/NGO Conference, with this year's focus on "Climate Change: How It Impacts Us All", kicked off at UN Headquarters in New York on 5 September 2007. Organized by the UN Department of Public Information (DPI), in partnership with the NGO/DPI Executive Committee, the three-day event aimed to mobilize global public awareness of the dangers to the environment and emphasize the role of civil society in tackling climate change.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon identified climate change as the "defining issue of our era" and which he considered one of his top priorities. "We also understand that this is not a challenge for the UN alone", said UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro at the opening session of the Conference. She explained that in order to tackle climate change, it "requires a truly global effort-an effort that draws together Governments, the private sector and civil society in one sustained push for change". Ms. Migiro also pointed out that the effort to combat climate change also presented remarkable opportunities to implement a more sustainable development process, encourage cleaner businesses, industries and jobs, make better use of natural resources and reinvest in depleted natural capital.

"A radical change of behaviour and consciousness" is required to address climate change, said UN General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, who also emphasized the important role that civil society played in halting climate change, saying that it was essential to build stronger ties with civil society, which had often been strained due to mistrust and lack of understanding. "The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization, but it draws its strength and inspiration from the support of civil society worldwide", she noted.

"I do not believe that mankind has ever before in its history faced such a challenge", said Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in his keynote address. He noted that the presence and interest of civil society is proof that climate change is a phenomenal environmental problem which draws the people of the world together more than ever. In addition, Mr. Steiner believes that climate change is the transformative issue of the early part of this century, especially since it challenged the past century's notions about such things as "environment vs. economics" and "economy vs. the planet". Climate change also challenges any paradigm of equity between rich and poor and between generations, as well as threatening years of work towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), he added.

Photo courtesy of UN DPI/NGO Section

During the three-day event, a series of roundtable discussions were held regarding different aspects on tackling climate change. A panel discussion devoted to the theme of the economics and politics of energy and climate change was held in a packed conference room on 6 September. It addressed the interrelationship between economies, energy policies and climate change and its impact on economic growth, trade and technological development.

The solid scientific understanding shows that "climate change is unequivocal and accelerating", and the concept of climate change has become a catalyst to conflict, said Richard Kinley, Deputy Executive Director of the Secretariat for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). "The climate is changing on climate change", he said. Public consciousness and concerns are seen in the Arctic communities, small island States and African countries-people are deeply concerned about this issue, he added. However, the sense of urgency has not been taken seriously enough. There is hesitancy in addressing this issue effectively; the reason behind this, according to Mr. Kinley, is the continuing fear of economic hardship and the misconception that "economic growth and climate protection are mutually exclusive". Climate change is an issue of national interest, he said, and "the costs of inaction outweigh the costs of action".

Mr. Kinley stressed the significance of the Secretary-General's high level meeting on climate change, scheduled for 24 September 2007, which would lead to negotiations in the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, from 3 to 14 December 2007. He introduced three main issues to be discussed during the Bali meeting: a renewed determination from industrialized countries and their leading role in response to climate change, not only in the form of emission reductions at home, but also their assistance to developing countries in terms of pursuing objectives and adaptation; further engagement by developing countries in tackling climate change; and enhanced support for adaptation efforts. Mr. Kinley also commented on the significant role of the carbon market, which allows for effective and efficient implementation of emission reductions.

Panelist John Holdren, Director of the Woods Hole Research Center, said society has only three options regarding climate change: mitigation, adaptation and suffering. Maximizing adaptation and mitigation could still minimize suffering, he said. However, we need to achieve enough mitigation to avoid large increases in suffering, and it requires major shifts in energy and land-use practices, which contribute to the biggest cause of carbon dioxide emissions, added Mr. Holdren, who also teaches environmental policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. "Burning coal, oil and natural gas is today supplying 80 per cent of the world's energy and releasing about 30 billion tons per year of carbon dioxide-two thirds of those emissions are from industrialized countries, but developing countries will dominate these emissions in aggregate terms after 2020", he noted. Furthermore, deforestation and burning in the tropics releases 5 billion to10 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year.

"The cheapest, fastest, cleanest and surest source of emission reductions is to increase the efficiency of energy and use in buildings, industry and transport", Mr. Holdren pointed out, adding that many of the approaches are "win-win" solutions. However, the reality is that adequate mitigation to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG) is costly-it is as much as 1 to 2 per cent of the world gross domestic product (GDP). "We need to afford it", he stressed, as "it will be cheaper than suffering the damages from not doing it". In applying the more costly solutions, industrialized countries must take the lead in terms of paying more the upfront costs, as well as offering assistance to developing countries. "It is a matter of historical responsibility, capacity, equity and international law under the UNFCCC", Mr. Holdren emphasized. Developing countries will need to be compensated for reducing and avoiding deforestation.

Moderator Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the Europe Environment Agency, said that energy has become a matter of security in the context of climate change. She ended the discussion by posing a question to the audience, asking how many of them would think their children would be better off than them. The question left everyone thinking that addressing climate change allows no time to waste as it threatens not only our life, but also the life of the next generation.

For more information on the DPI/NGO Conference, please visit: http://www.un.org/dpi/ngosection/conference/

For more information on climate change and the UN system, please visit http://www.un.org/climatechange/