2 December 2008: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed a meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative that convened in Hong Kong, China, from 2-3 December 2008, in a video message. He underlined the interrelations between the financial turmoil, accelerating climate change, persistent poverty and hunger, and called on the Asia-Pacific region to play a “leading role” in averting a “human catastrophe.”

Noting progress achieved by Asia in terms of economic growth and
development, he stated that the region has offered valuable lessons to
the rest of the world. However, he underscored that much remains to be
done in terms of fighting poverty and reducing greenhouse gas
emissions. He stated that Asia’s “urgent challenge” is to “foster
economic growth” while “minimizing the impact on climate change and the
environment.” Ban added that “green growth” has the potential to create
millions of jobs. Once implemented, the commitments made during the
meeting will result in: the protection of nearly 24,000 hectares of
forest land by empowering local residents to manage their own natural
resources; the reduction of the of over 40,000 tons of carbon dioxide
equivalent; and the teaching of over 700,000 people to better cope
with disasters. [UN Press Release] [Clinton Global Initiative Asia Meeting Website]