24 June 2009: In advance of this year’s G-8 Summit in L’Aquila, Italy, scheduled to take place from 8-10 July, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has written to the G-8 leaders outlining challenges that require their urgent attention, including tackling climate change.

In the letter, he asks G-8 Governments to lead by making ambitious and firm commitments to reduce emissions on the order of the 25-40% the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates is required from industrialized countries by 2020 to avert the worst effects of climate change. He also expresses the hope that G-8 Governments will commit to a specific timetable and modalities to deliver the billions of dollars needed over the next few years to assist the poorest and most vulnerable to adapt to climate change. Ban further urges G-8 leaders to “seal the deal” in Copenhagen.[UN Press Release]