[GJM] UN SECRETARY-GENERAL COMPARES CHALLENGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE TO COLD WAR-ERA NUCLEAR THREAT
EcoTort
ecotort at gn.apc.org
Wed Aug 1 07:26:45 MDT 2007
Hello to everyone on my emailing list...
I have had a message from my highly esteemed web hosts at Green Net that
I'm spamming,
which, if continued, I am told, will damage their reputation on the net.
I sincerely wish to avoid this happening if at all possible...
To the best of my knowledge
I only send emails to people who give me their email address,
or whose email address is in the public domain in some way.
If I am spamming you, please let me know and I will desist immediately.
Many thanks,
Cheers from Nick St Clare,
at the EcoTort Theatre in Hackney
07787 732 739
http://www.ecotort.gn.apc.org
HIGH TIDES AND GREEN GRASS FOREVER !
here is the link to the article below it:
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm10893.doc.htm
<http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm10893.doc.htm>
1 March 2007
Secretary-General
SG/SM/10893
ENV/DEV/914
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Department of Public Information . News and Media Division . New York*
SECRETARY-GENERAL, ADDRESSING STUDENT CONFERENCE, COMPARES CHALLENGE
OF CLIMATE CHANGE TO COLD WAR-ERA NUCLEAR THREAT
Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's address
to the United Nations International School-United Nations Conference
on "Global Warming: Confronting the Crisis", in New York, today, 1
March:
Welcome to the United Nations. It is immensely gratifying for me to
see so many young faces in this General Assembly Hall. Here in this
building, there is often talk about future generations and how best
to serve them. Yet, it is a rare pleasure to actually welcome some
of tomorrow's leaders to today's United Nations.
Walking into this Hall right now, I felt the sense of possibility
and openness that all of you breathe into this space. You are
unburdened by political agendas. You are free of restrictive
governmental mandates. Indeed, your gathering symbolizes much of
what is best about the United Nations: people of all nations and
varied viewpoints coming together to deliberate and deliver on the
foremost issues confronting the world.
Over these two days, as you consider the challenge of climate
change, I am confident that your discussions will benefit from the
sense of history and consequence permeating this chamber. But, I
also believe that your energy can help inspire your older
counterparts -- such as myself.
As you know, I am somewhat new to the United Nations system, having
taken over as Secretary-General at the beginning of this year. In
fact, I must confess to you that this is my first address on this
podium as Secretary-General of the United Nations since I was
elected. I have been waiting already two months, but there has been
no General Assembly officially, and I am still waiting for an
official General Assembly presentation in this august body. But,
believe it or not, after two months, this is my first time to
address any group of people on this podium since I was sworn in on
14 December.
Yet, like you, I started to identify with this Organization and its
ideals at a very early age. A child of the Korean War, I grew up
viewing the United Nations as a saviour; an organization which
helped my country, the Republic of Korea, recover and rebuild from a
devastating conflict. Because of decisions taken in this building,
my country was able to grow and prosper in peace. This prosperity,
in turn, helped a boy from rural Korea to rise up through his
country's diplomatic ranks and eventually become Secretary-General
of the United Nations.
So, dear delegates, you may say that I not only believe passionately
in the mission of the United Nations to "save succeeding generations
from the scourge of war", I have benefited directly from it.
Yet, if there is one crucial difference between the era I grew up
in, and the world you inherit, it is of the relative dangers we
face. For my generation, coming of age at the height of the cold
war, fear of a nuclear winter seemed the leading existential threat
on the horizon.
*
*
*Today, **war continues to threaten countless men, women and
children across the globe. It is the source of untold suffering and
loss. And the majority of the UN's work still focuses on preventing
and ending conflict. But, the danger posed by war to all of
humanity -- and to our planet -- is at least matched by the climate
crisis and global warming.*
*
*
*By now, I believe that the world has reached a critical stage in
its efforts to exercise responsible environmental stewardship.
Despite our best intentions and some admirable efforts to date,
degradation of the global environment continues unabated, and the
world's natural resource base is being used in an unsustainable manner.*
*
*
*Moreover, the effects of climate change are being felt around the
world. The latest assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change has established a strong link between human activity
and climate change. The Panel's projections suggest that all
countries will feel the adverse impact. But, it is the poor -- in
Africa, small island developing States and elsewhere -- who will
suffer most, even though they are the least responsible for global
warming.*
*
*
*That is why action on climate change will be one of my top
priorities as Secretary-General. I am encouraged to know that, in
the industrialized countries from which leadership is most needed,
awareness is growing. In increasing numbers, decision makers are
recognizing that that the cost of inaction or delayed action will
far exceed the short-term investments needed to address this challenge.*
The success of /An inconvenient Truth/ suggests that, even amongst
the broader public, climate change is no longer an "inconvenient"
issue, it is an inescapable reality. As participants in the global
carbon-based economy, all of us are part of this grave and growing
problem. Now, each one of us also needs to commit to the search for
solutions. We have to change the way we live, and rethink the way
we travel and transact business.
By your presence here, you are clearly ready to take up this
challenge. I know that your discussions will consider ways to
mitigate global warming, and I am confident that you will take those
lessons to heart.
One of the issues I hope you will consider is the urgent need to
reframe the debate on climate change. Till now, this phenomenon has
largely been viewed in isolation as an environmental issue. Yet, it
is fast becoming increasingly clear, in North and South alike, that
there is an inextricable, mutually dependent relationship between
environmental sustainability and economic development.
Global warming has profound implications for jobs, growth and
poverty. It affects agricultural output, the spread of disease and
migration patterns. It determines the ferocity and frequency of
natural disasters. It can prompt water shortages, degrade land and
lead to the loss of biodiversity. And, in coming decades, changes
in our environment and the resulting upheavals -- from droughts to
inundated coastal areas to loss of arable lands -- are likely to
become a major driver of war and conflict.
These issues transcend borders. That is why protecting the world's
environment is largely beyond the capacity of individual countries.
Only concerted and coordinated international action -- supported and
sustained by individual initiative -- will be sufficient. The
natural arena for such action is the United Nations.
I am strongly committed to ensuring that the United Nations helps
the international community make the transition to sustainable
practices. We are preparing for a United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change conference in Bali in December. More
broadly, the UN family is mobilizing all its efforts to address the
many challenges posed by global warming. I plan to strengthen this
work further.
Much more must also be done by Governments, business and civil
society. This June, I plan to attend the summit meeting of the
Group of 8 (G-8) industrialized nations, known as the G-8, where I
shall discuss the issue of climate change with global leaders. The
world needs a more coherent system of international environmental
governance. We need to invest more in green technologies and
smarter policies. And we need to do far more to adapt to global
warming and its effects. There are growing opportunities for
innovative businesses to spur progress and innovation through
products that push all of us onto more sustainable paths. But, our
efforts should focus particularly on the needs of the poor, who
already suffer disproportionately from pollution, disasters and the
degradation of resources and land. In particular, plans to
implement the Millennium Development Goals should address the added
risks posed by climate change.
We are all complicit in the process of global warming.
Unsustainable practices are deeply entrenched in our everyday
lives. But, in the absence of decisive measures, the true cost of
our actions will be borne by succeeding generations, starting with
yours.
That would be an unconscionable legacy; one which we must all join
hands to avert. As it stands, the damage already inflicted on our
ecosystem will take decades -- perhaps centuries -- to reverse; if
we act now.
Unfortunately, my generation has been somewhat careless in looking
after our one and only planet. But, I am hopeful that is finally
changing. And I am also hopeful that your generation will prove far
better stewards of our environment; in fact, looking around this
hall today, I have a strong sense that you already are.
In that spirit, let me wish all of you a very successful and
informative Conference.
** *** **
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*For information media . not an official record*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://globaljusticemovement.net/pipermail/discussion_globaljusticemovement.net/attachments/20070801/c306b082/attachment-0001.html
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: unlogo_blue_sml_en.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 31065 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://globaljusticemovement.net/pipermail/discussion_globaljusticemovement.net/attachments/20070801/c306b082/attachment-0001.jpg
More information about the Discussion
mailing list