UN Secretary General says world on brink of “the age of green economics”, says global co-operation, engagement, rules are keys to success

February 8, 2008

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the world is “on the threshold of another (transformation) — the age of green economics,” and said that “Businesspeople in so many parts of the world are demanding clear and consistent policies on climate change — global policies for a global problem.”

He called for increased support of the United Nations efforts to coordinate climate change policy, saying that “Operating effectively in today’s world requires partnership. It requires co-operation, engagement and dialogue — as well as global rules.” He added that “With the right financial incentives and a global framework, we can steer economic growth in a low-carbon direction.”

In December, at the UN Conference conference on Climate Change in Bali, Ban Ki-Moon said that a new emissions treaty must be finalized by the Copenhagen conference in 2009 to give nations enough time to ratify before 2012. The Bali Roadmap, intended to be the major product of the 190-nation conference, will guide negotiations for a successor to the Kyoto Treaty which expires in 2012.

Ban has made environmental accords a centerpiece of his program, and he completed a South American tour late last year, and also visited the Antarctic and the Amazon rain forest to “see first-hand the effects of climate change and deforestation on the environment,” according to a U.N. spokesperson. For his efforts on biofuels and climate change, the Secretary-General received a Biofuels Digest Medal for High Achievement in Biofuels for 2007.

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Written by Jim Lane · Filed Under International, Policy