In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has told world leaders they must stimulate greater action on climate change
Mr Ban called upon leaders to come together in a Climate Summit one year from now to stimulate action on creating a legally binding deal in 2015.
The Secretary-General asked them to come to the summit in 2014, equipped with bold pledges.
This was necessary as the world attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to keep the world below dangerous levels of global warming.
An important year in the climate change calendar, 2015 is when the world is set to come together under the UNFCCC, the branch of the UN responsible for coordinating climate action, to arrange a globally binding deal.
It also marks the end of the Millennium Development Goals.
These will be replaced with a set of Sustainable Development Goals.
T
he new goals are expected to reinvigorate the UN and stimulate greater action on environmental degradation as the world moves towards what it calls an “age of sustainable development”.
“Let us seize the 2015 challenge: a final push for the MDGs, new directions on energy and climate, and an inspiring new development framework,” Mr Ban told the UN conference in New York.
It is hoped that the Summit will stimulate governments, business, finance, industry and civil society to contribute new commitments that can then be scaled upwards and replicated, helping the world shift towards a low-carbon economy.
Any future climate negotiations from the UN are expected to take into account the IPCC report, the comprehensive review of the climate science since 2007, that is being released tomorrow.
The report will confirm that it is 95 per cent certain that the planet is warming and humans are responsible.
“Our planet and our scientists are sending a clear message, as we will see once again this week when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issues its latest assessment,” said Mr Ban.
He added, “There is opportunity amid this peril, a chance to change the way we do business, plan our cities, fuel our homes and factories, and move our goods and ourselves.
“A low-carbon path beckons, a path that can create jobs and improve public health while safeguarding the environment.”
