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Attended by representatives from 150 countries, including 71 Heads of State and Government, the high-level meeting convened by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 24 September 2007 at UN Headquarters in New York, entitled “The Future in Our Hands: Addressing the leadership Challenges of Climate Change”, discussed ways to form an accelerated global response to tackle climate change.
Climate change, a subject originally proposed by the island nation of Malta, first appeared on the world’s political agenda at the General Assembly two decades ago, recalled Mr. Ban at the opening session. “Today, the time for doubt has passed”, he said, urging all nations to act on the extraordinary challenge of climate change, which demands unprecedented action and leadership that is ready to set new directions. Climate change is a serious threat to development everywhere, the impacts of which could undo much of the investment made to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Mr. Ban reiterated. “By being creative, we can reduce emissions while promoting economic growth”, he said, calling for common but varied responsibilities, which ought to be formed in the international community. These include enhanced leadership by industrialized countries on emissions reduction, incentives for developing countries to act without sacrificing economic growth or poverty reduction, and new approaches to financing, including better use of market-based approaches.
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In a thematic discussion on “Financing the response to climate change—investing in tomorrow”, over 30 speakers, including Heads of State and Government, shared their national experiences and raised their concerns on the financial aspect of combating climate change. Participants reached the consensus that with developed countries taking the lead to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG), investment in new technologies and public funding is crucial for tackling climate change. Furthermore, the assistance given to developing countries—whose main goal is to eradicate poverty—and to those that are most vulnerable to climate change, such as small island States, is of utmost importance.
Combating climate change involves massive shifts in investment patterns spanning a wide range of sectors, such as power generation, industry, the urban environment, waste, transport, agriculture and forestry, said Han Seung-soo, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, who facilitated the session. To gain progress, he said, countries must look into optimizing finance and new sources of investment, as well as the role of public financing, carbon finance, emissions trading and regulations, as well as other Government-led initiatives and private sector involvement. A strengthened post-2012 regime would mean having an international climate policy that directed such investments to more sustainable options in developing countries, Mr. Han added.
In its report concerning investment and financial flows, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) stated that in 2030 an additional $200 billion would be needed. This figure however is small, compared to the potential cost incurred by the devastation due to delay, said Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister of Norway, who was also co-chair of the session. The public policy instrument and the private sector should play important roles that could mobilize those funds. Industrialized countries must take the greatest responsibility. “Little could we have conceived, when we began our political careers, the nature and magnitude of the challenge of climate change that we now face”, he said. “This is the time and this is the place to rise to it. I know we will.”
Industrialized nations had a special responsibility to combat climate change, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France pointed out, adding that their first goal should be the achievement of clean growth. “A new economy must be invented” and in this regard new technologies, including nuclear energy, should be created, he said, suggesting that carbon should have a price, be it through market mechanisms or through taxes, a topic which is ongoingly debated in France. This approach should be tackled by region and no longer only by country, he added, informing representatives that France had devoted its official development assistance—a sum of over €430 million—to projects combating climate change, he called on all industrialized nations to commit to financing adaptation to countries that need support, such as those in Africa.
Financing mitigation of climate change is an investment in the future, said Valdis Zatlers, President of Latvia. He emphasized the importance of setting long-term binding targets for GHG under the post-2012 regime and encouraging investment in low-carbon technologies. In this context, a new climate change financial instrument, which would serve as a “green investment scheme”, is being established in Latvia. This project administers proceeds from international emissions trading, with the goal of promoting the use of renewable energy, stimulating energy efficiency and investment in low-carbon technologies.
Extreme weather events have an increasing impact on economies. The President of Comoros , Ahmed Abadallah Sambi, said that climate change was a real danger, in particular for small island developing States (SIDS), where the effects of global warming and the destruction of the ozone layer are alarming, leaving the country extremely vulnerable. There must be greater global awareness and solidarity, he urged, suggesting that international cooperation, particularly in the transfer of environmentally-friendly technology, was required in order to implement measures to combat climate change.
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| Courtesy of IPCC |
The developed world should lead the way by taking immediate domestic action to reduce harmful gas emissions, said Thongloun Sysoulith, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. He called upon the international community to offer financial and technical assistance to least developed countries (LDCs) and SIDS by building an adaptive capacity and acquiring appropriate technologies. Speaking of his country's success in battling climate change through forestry conservation and development, Mr. Sysoulith informed that its forestry area reached 11.2 million hectares in 2005, and wood exploitation had declined by 50 per cent. He also emphasized the important role that the United Nations plays in combating climate change, and called upon all Member States who have not yet ratified and implemented the Climate Change Convention and the Kyoto Protocol to do so.
Financing is a cross-cutting issue, said Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania. He stressed that developing countries, in particular LDCs and SIDS, are most vulnerable to climate change and their adaptation requires financing. He also emphasized that as the role of technology is highly important in combating climate change, developing countries require financing to access to those technologies.
In his summary speech at the end of the day-long event, Mr. Ban said that investment decisions taken today have long-term impacts on emissions for the coming decades. Developing countries should be provided with additional resources, particularly for building their capacity to implement the right structure of public policy instruments. In agreement with the speakers, regarding the importance of making eligible the protection of existing forests for carbon finance under the post-2012 regime, Mr. Ban added that the Clean Development Mechanism should also be strengthened. On the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali in December, which aims to launch negotiations on an agreement to reduce GHG after 2012, Mr. Ban noted: "Today, I heard a clear call from world leaders for a breakthrough on climate change in Bali".
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