Environment News Service: Top United Nations officials joined invited climate experts today in urging decisive action on a global scale to combat the challenges posed by climate change.
"We cannot continue with business as usual," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a General Assembly meeting on the issue at UN Headquarters in
… Expert panelist Sir Nicholas Stern of the London School of Economics said, "The cost of strong and timely action in addressing the global causes and impacts of climate change far less than that of inaction or timid and delayed responses." Stern's 2006 climate change report, "The Stern Review," received international attention for its conclusion that addressing the climate change issue now is the best economic choice.
Speaking at a press conference at UN Headquarters, Stern proposed a nine-point plan, including a 50 percent cut by 2050 in world greenhouse gas emissions, relative to 1990 emission levels.
Rich countries should work towards a target of around 75 percent cuts, he said, as well as specific targets for 2020. Stern said that the risks of climate change could be reduced, though not eliminated, by an expenditure of one percent of world gross domestic product per year….
…Because of climate change, development will cost tens of billions more per year than previously understood, he predicted. Yet adaptation and mitigation technologies must be developed and development assistance promises delivered.
…Jim Rogers, chairman and CEO of Duke Energy, said his company is the third largest consumer of coal, the fourth largest nuclear operator, and the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the
The climate change question needs leadership not only from all governments, but also from the private sector and nongovernmental organizations around the world, he said. In the
No comments:
Post a Comment