10 September 2009
UNFCCC Executive Secretary Addresses Asahi World Environment Forum
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7 September 2009: UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer addressed the Asahi World Environment Forum, held from 7-8 September 2009, in Tokyo, Japan, where he lauded the newly elected Democratic Party’s intention to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25% below 1990 levels by 2020.

De Boer called for a new level of international cooperation to […]

© UNFCCC7 September 2009: UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer addressed the Asahi World Environment Forum, held from 7-8 September 2009, in Tokyo, Japan, where he lauded the newly elected Democratic Party’s intention to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25% below 1990 levels by 2020.

De Boer called for a new level of international cooperation to tackle climate change, highlighting Copenhagen as more than an agreement on climate change but as a “litmus test for a new age of multilateralism.” He pointed to “a high degree of mistrust between developed and developing countries,” stemming from the fact that industrialized countries are calling on the major developing countries with advanced economies to take on commitments, while they themselves have not met their mitigation and financial commitments in the past. De Boer said climate change could not be addressed without a meaningful contribution by developing countries, highlighting the challenge to craft a way forward based on respect and mutual support, achieved through ambitious targets and a robust financing system. [The Speech]