SG: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Since we don't have too much time and I've already made a statement this morning, which I hope all of you heard, let's go straight to questions.
Q: Good morning, I am Nelly Mora from KBC, host broadcaster UNFCCC. My question is, Mr. Secretary-General: What is the UN's response in regard to climate change and again, in view of the fact that the UN has several agencies, how is it coordinating this response to ensure that Africa adapts well to climate change and again, at the conclusion of your speech at the plenary, you did say that man must change, in order for climate change to be tackled effectively. What are the impacts of these words, in regard to the fact that some nations represented here have adopted rigid positions and are reluctant to sign environmental treaties. Thank you.
SG: As I indicated this morning, [several] six UN agencies are coming together to work as one to assist Africa in the Clean Development Mechanism, which means that countries from industrialized nations will make resources available for sustainable development in the developing world, in the poorer countries, thus gaining credits. And so, I think we will be able to give assistance to the developing countries. The UN agencies will be working as one and I think it's an important development. On the question of are we changing our attitude towards climate change, first of all we have to accept that climate change is occurring and not be distracted by those who claim we need more science. I think we have all the scientific knowledge necessary to make that determination. It is also important, as I said, that governments lead, the private sector get involved, individuals get involved. And I indicated how you as individuals can become engaged and be a positive factor in confronting climate change. So if we all played our role and did our bit, I think we will be able to change and contain the global climate change, at least begin to reverse it.
Q: Gerald Wynne from Reuters. Secretary-General, you talk about a frightening lack of political leadership on climate change and you said that rich countries must cut their emissions. Your speech sounded a little like a letter to George W. Bush. What would you encourage the United States to do about climate change?
SG: My speech was not directed at any particular individual or president. It was directed to the world at large. I think there are many leaders who are not taking climate change seriously. I was encouraged by the report that the United Kingdom government issued, which really also sounded the alarm. And I would want leaders around the world to really show courage and to know that if they do, their people and the population and the voters will be with them. If they don't, I think the population and the voters should take the lead to let them know that they consider climate change seriously and that there may be a political cost, if they don't show the political leadership to move the process forward. And I would hope, I would urge leaders to really take this issue seriously. It's one of the greatest challenges of our time.
Q: Marc Engelhardt of the EPD German News Agency. Mr. Secretary-General, you are leaving from here to Addis Ababa to discuss new solutions for Darfur. Since there has been huge opposition to a UN presence in Darfur, would you discuss UN troops for eastern Chad, which might be much easier to achieve?
SG: I think the two issues are related. We need to continue our efforts to calm Darfur and to try and stabilize the situation and to get assistance to the internally displaced people and to gain access for the humanitarian workers, while we press ahead with the implementation of the political agreement signed in Abuja. The two issues are linked in the sense that the border area between Chad and Sudan is very fragile and volatile and you have cross-border attacks and we are looking at the possibility of putting UN observers or some international presence on the border and working with the Government of Chad to ensure that the refugees who are in Chad are protected and to ensure that cross-border attacks would also be minimized. But we have not given up the idea of strengthening the force in Darfur because you need to do the two. If you abandon Darfur and try to strengthen the Chad side of the border, it is not going to work.
Q: M. Annan, vous avez parlé des pays leaders mondiaux qui devraient faire plus pour reduire leurs emissions. Est-ce que le Canada fait partie de ces pays qui devraient faire davantage et, d'apres vous, quel role devrait jouer le Canada pour montrer le chemin en termes de reduction des gaz à effet de serre?
SG: Je crois que le Canada est parmi les pays qui sont en train de faire des efforts. Mais je crois que chaque pays doit vraiment augmenter ses efforts et le Canada peut jouer un rôle de leader pour montrer aux autres pays ce qui peut se faire. Et je crois que la population canadienne est tres engagée dans ce domaine et j'espère qu'en travaillant ensemble avec le gouvernement ils vont pouvoir montrer aux autres pays qu'est-ce qu'on peut faire dans ce domaine.
Q: Thank you. I'm called Godfrey [..inaudible..] from the Daily Monitor, Uganda. You note that most of the current negotiations regarding climate change tend to be between the G8 and emerging economies, developing economies like India and China. And some of the policies that are agreed upon in some of these summits tend to leave behind smaller developing countries. For instance, the Clean Development Mechanism -- the policies that were agreed upon tend not to cover, for instance, the afforestation aspect in the developing world. You as the UN, what plans to you have for developing countries, smaller developing countries in regard to climate change and policies such as the Clean Development Mechanism?
SG: I don't think I would say that in these plans and policies, the smaller developing countries are ignored or their interests are not factored in. If in the Kyoto Protocol one focused on the big developed countries, it was right, because they are the ones who are most guilty of producing these emissions and greenhouse gases. If we mention some of the bigger developing country economies, India or China, they also have to begin taking this seriously, because they are at the stage where they are also beginning to produce greenhouse gases and emissions. The smaller countries may not have been mentioned, but by getting the big producers to control their emissions, you are also helping the smaller countries. And now of course there is this Clean Development Mechanism, which will be used to assist smaller countries, and I don't think we need to wait for the international community to come in, to begin to plant trees, reforest. We've seen what has been done here in Kenya, where under the leadership of a single woman, who has got millions of trees replanted in Kenya. Other governments can do the same, and it will help with land erosion, it will help with flooding. Now that in certain parts of Third World countries all the trees are gone, there is no vegetation and nothing to break the floods when they do come in. Thank you.
Q: Mr. Secretary-General, my name is Roland Dattenberg from [...inaudible...] Daily Paper (Netherlands). In your speech you gave a compliment to China. While it is predicted that this country will produce emissions which will level those of the biggest economy in the world, those of the United States. So my question is: what was the background to give a compliment like that?
SG: Look at my statement and read it carefully and sincerely. The message I was getting at is that we shouldn't focus only on the developed countries and that the big developing countries should also make an effort. I commended China for making that effort because I think that some of the developing countries, whether it is China or others can leap frog that others had to go through to get to where they are. There is lots of green technology out there. I hope China and other fast developing countries will go for those kinds of technologies, can continue to take seriously environmental degradation. Otherwise, regardless, as fast as they grow, it is the environment that is going to be the constraint on their growth and development. And they have to take it seriously and China is beginning to take it very seriously and other developing countries should pay heed, not insist that it is a problem for the developed world. It is a problem for all of us.
Q: Fiona Harvey from the Financial Times. Mr. Annan, the Kyoto Protocol has set up and international market in carbon trading which is progressing very well; it seems very healthy and lots of businesses are involved. However, as the commitment period ends in 2012, the markets are worried that they have no certainty of the system continuing beyond 2012. What assurances can you give the carbon markets?
SG: I think the only thing I can say here is that governments and activists have already started thinking beyond 2012. We cannot wait until 2012 and I'm really hopeful that, given the kind of movement we are seeing now, the pressures governments and leaders are coming under, we will come up with a mechanism that will go beyond 2012. It would be catastrophic if we were to fail to do that. And, we still have some time, but we don't have that much time. People need to plan ahead and I hope we will be able to come up with a mechanism that will take us beyond 2012. As I indicated this morning, Kyoto is an important step, but it is not enough.
Q: Thank you. Nico Fickinger from the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine. As the dimension of the problem rises, wouldn't you say that it is now time to put it on a higher political level, let's say, the G8 or something like this. Are conferences like these the appropriate means and place to discuss such big problems as climate change?
SG: I really think this is a global problem and it cannot be entrusted to the G8. The G8 can pick it up and decide to accelerate their own efforts, but it is a global problem and we all need to cooperate to bring it under control. We need to raise awareness and get countries that are now rushing ahead full steam with development to be aware that there are green technologies out there. They need to take steps to control their emissions and, as I said, if they don't, the environment is going to be the constraint on their development efforts. But it is important that groups like the G8 and others take up the issue of climate change and commit themselves to working seriously to do something about it. That would send a powerful message and it would encourage others to follow.
Q: Thank you very much. My name is Peter Mwangi, Afrikaner News. Mr. Secretary-General, I wanted to know the significance of some of the achievements that the reformation of the UN system has done so far in controlling conflict or civil wars across Africa and what is the legacy you leave behind for the African countries to learn from? Thank you.
SG: As for legacy, I think I will leave that to historians. But I will come back. Let me say that as far as conflicts are concerned, I am pleased to say that there are fewer wars in the world today than 10 years ago. There are fewer civil wars today than 10 years ago, so there is some progress. But there are still far to many conflicts, particularly on our continent. We should look at the conflicts that have been resolved: Burundi is on the right track, Sierra Leone, Liberia. We've been able to contain the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia, even though we haven't had the cooperation to go ahead and fully demarcate their borders. Only 10 days ago or so, the Democratic Republic of Congo held its first democratic elections in about 40 years. I hope the protagonists will accept the results and play by the rules. And if they do and we are able to pacify a huge country like the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country the size of Europe. And as I said yesterday, very few problem remain internal. The Congolese problem affected all their neighbours –6 to 8 countries were involved. So if we calm Congo, we will have a major impact in the Great Lakes region and I have urged African leaders to work together to resolve the conflicts that remain, so that they can devote their limited resources to economic and social development.
I think as Secretary-General I have put the issue of inequity and the question of poverty at the centre of the UN's work. Not only through the Millennium Development Goals, but we also had the Monterrey consensus, where there was an understanding between the developed world and the developing world. Where the developing world were to improve governance, strengthen institutions, fight corruption, and in exchange, the developed world would invest substantially in the countries that are moving in this direction. We have already seen progress. Development assistance has risen to a hundred billion dollars which has never happened [inaudible]. We have had debt relief for about 18 countries and, if we can be able to settle the conflicts on this continent, I'm sure investors would come, because investors would want to know that if they invest today, the assumptions under which they have invest in will prevail for the next five years and beyond, so that they can get their investment back. If they are not sure, and it is a bad neighbourhood, with conflicts and tensions, no one is coming to invest. And that in a way explains the plight of Africa.
Q: Thank you Mr. General Secretary. I'm from the China's Xinhua news agency. My question is what would be the most concrete achievement or progress at this climate change conference and what do you expect the most when it concludes this Friday?
SG: The Conference has just begun. So perhaps I can say that it's best achievement is that it opened well, it started well. But, I think that as we move forward in the day, the negotiations are going on, that there will be a document that everyone will agree to. My colleagues are also going to have a press conference with you this afternoon and will go into greater detail this afternoon with you and I hope most of you will be able to attend that.
Q: Good afternoon, Sir. My name is Alison and I work with UNMIL radio from Liberia. Sir, it's been a year since the Kyoto Protocol. One year on, we find ourselves here in Kenya discussing climate change and trying to find a suitable approach to this problem. As you leave office, Sir, I'm sure you must have sat in your little corner, trying to think over what you will tell to this conference that will serve as the best solution to see how we can approach this problem.
SG: First of all let me say that Kyoto is not a magic bullet. It's a step in the right direction, but we still have a lot to do. We still have to work very hard to meet the requirements on the data agreement and to go beyond. And I think in my statement this morning, I did indicate what can be done. What can be done by governments, by corporations and by individuals. And I hope we will heed the suggestions I put forward.
Q: Alex Morales, Bloomberg News. Secretary-General, you said in your speech that economies based on high emissions are an uncontrolled experiment on the global climate. What's your message to high emitting countries, such as the U.S. and Australia, which haven't ratified Kyoto, or a country such as Canada, which is now saying that its emissions targets are unachievable?
SG: Well, at least Canada is trying, but it says that it's unachievable, but it is committed. There are countries which have not signed Kyoto, but maintain that whether they've signed it or not, they are going to take steps to fight climate change and may go beyond. It think it would be preferable if they signed the Kyoto Agreement. If they do not sign the Kyoto Agreement, they have to act and be in step with the rest of the industrialized world. They have a responsibility to their citizens and to the rest of the world and the people they share the planet with to bring their emissions under control. Some American leaders have told me, "We have not signed Kyoto, but we are going to take measures to fulfill it or even go beyond." So let's wait and see if that happens. But of course as I said, we want to go beyond Kyoto and the governments that want to take their own initiatives I hope will not limit themselves to Kyoto, but try to go beyond it.
Q: Thank you very much, I'm Anne [...inaudible...] from [... inaudible...] newspaper. What's your comment on the ongoing confrontation between Ethiopia and Somalia?
SG: We have a very serious situation in Somalia. First of all, I would appeal to the Somalis to try and put their differences together and continue the talks which began in Khartoum and honour the Khartoum 1 and Khartoum 2 agreements and the talks which are now suspended should resume very quickly. I also urge the two groups, the transitional government and the Islamic Court, to avoid further confrontation and military action. The people of Somalia have suffered for a long time. This is a country that has been in crisis for well over 15 years and can be described as a failed state. And I hope they will wake up, the international community would want to assist, but the Somalis have the primary responsibility and I hope they will really continue the talks. I would also urge neighbouring countries to avoid interfering in Somalia. It is an already difficult and volatile situation. We do not need to see it further complicated by neighbouring countries rushing in with troops or guns to support one side or the other. It will only compound the problem and so I would urge them to stay out and urge the Somalis to continue their dialogue.
Q: Stefan Ehlert, Berliner Zeitung. Mr Secretary-General, what is your personal future? Is it true that you are considering the Presidency in Ghana?
SG: There is a very long holiday in my future, for my wife and for myself. I think we deserve it. So we take a long break and then try and organize a life that will give me a balance between reflection and action and I don't think being President of Ghana will give me that kind of life. But I would want to be able to work with the African governments and others to encourage agricultural productivity, to encourage food security, that we take food security seriously. It is really tragic that as a continent, we cannot feed ourselves. We have not gone through a green revolution and I hope that we will do that in the coming years. And for governments to take agriculture seriously, apart from feeding the people it also creates quite a lot of employment. And I will probably write, I will give some lectures and advise if people need my advice. Thank you very much.