9 September 2008: In a lecture given at the Korea Green
Foundation, in Seoul, Republic of Korea, Yvo de Boer, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, provided an overview of climate change science and the state-of-play of negotiations under the Bali
Road Map. Noting that the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol will
end in 2012 and that science predicts warming will happen faster than
previously thought, he called for international action to combat climate change
to be “stepped up significantly.”

He then described the Bali Road Map, which is
to conclude with an agreed outcome in Copenhagen in 2009, and underscored that
governments have little time to develop a solution to this global threat. He
urged the Copenhagen deal to allow viable, climate-friendly economic growth on
a global scale and to have a financial architecture that enables actions that
are measurable, reportable and verifiable.
Underlining that the Bali Road Map
does not distinguish between parties with and without targets, as the Kyoto
Protocol does, de Boer said the Road Map provides an opportunity for “a new way
of thinking” and called upon the Republic of Korea to lead this new thinking to
respond to the new economic reality. He welcomed the indication by the Republic
of Korea that it will: announce a reduction target for 2020 in 2009; increase
its investments into the research and development of environmentally sound
technologies; and expand the environmental market share.
He concluded by
stressing the role of the private sector in tackling climate change and
emphasizing that Copenhagen is “about creating value for change, creating new
investment opportunities and opening up whole new markets for businesses” as
well as “taking responsibility and making low-emissions economic development a
reality across the world.” [The
lecture]