During January 2008, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has repeatedly outlined the importance of multilateral action on climate change.

Speaking at the Launch of the UN’s US$ 3.8 billion Consolidated Appeal on humanitarian aid (23 January 2008), the Secretary-General said the “effects of climate change are bringing new concerns.” The Secretary-General noted that, in 2007, the rising number of floods, hurricanes, cyclones and drought resulted in a total of 15 flash appeals, by far the largest number for any year. “The fact that so many disasters were climate-related has major implications for humanitarian response in the future,” he said. Read More

In an address to the organizational session of the Economic and Social Council (14 January 2008), Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the need to make progress on the negotiations launched at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali and stated that the “international community will be looking to the UN to act on the mutually reinforcing relationship between our climate goals and development objectives”. Read more
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In an address to the Group of 77 Chairmanship Handover Ceremony (11 January 2008), the Secretary-General emphasized the need for all member states to work “together with a shared sense of urgency to address this global problem. Over the course of the next two years, we must strive to deliver on the promise of Bali. I count on your support as we move forward in tackling what I consider to be the defining issue of our time. It bodes well that climate change is understood – and increasingly being addressed – as a sustainable development challenge. I am determined to ensure that the UN system delivers effectively on its mandates in the area of climate change”. Read more

In an address to the meeting of Regional Groups of Member States (8-10 January 2008), the Secretary-General said climate change will “remain a top priority in the year ahead, both because of the escalating gravity of the issue itself and the tight negotiating calendar laid out by the Conference of Parties in Bali. The UN will need to facilitate a successful negotiation among parties, help achieve progress on implementation of existing mandates, and spearhead a revolution in global consciousness and behavior. And we will need to act on the mutually reinforcing relationship between climate goals and development goals”. Read more
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SECRETARY-GENERAL | UNITED NATIONS | UN CLIMATE CHANGE PORTAL |