Climate Action 2009-2010

“
We share one planet,
one home. As people, as
nations, as a species, we
sink or swim together
“
FOREWORD 12
in principle, funding should derive from both public and
private sources, and should not come at the expense of
official development assistance.
The task now is to translate political vision into political
reality. Copenhagen does not need to resolve all the
details, but it must succeed in establishing a framework
for progress on fundamental issues. It must provide a
deal that involves all countries, consistent with their
capabilities, working toward a common, long-term goal.
I have four benchmarks for success in Copenhagen.
First, every country must do its utmost to reduce
emissions from all major sources, including from
deforestation and emissions from shipping and aviation.
Industrialised countries have to strengthen their midterm
mitigation targets, which are currently nowhere
close to the cuts that the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change says are needed. Developing countries,
too, must slow the rise in their emissions and accelerate
green growth as part of their strategies to reduce poverty.
Second, a successful deal must strengthen the world’s
ability to cope with the many changes that are already
unfolding throughout the world as a result of decades
of increasing greenhouse gas emissions, unsustainable
development and environmental mismanagement. In
particular, it must provide comprehensive support to
the most vulnerable – those who are on the frontlines
of climate impacts. Support for adaptation is not just
ethically necessary, it is a smart investment in a more
stable, secure world.
Third, a deal needs to be backed by money and the
means to deliver it. Developing countries need funding
and technology so they can move more quickly toward
low-emissions green growth. The solutions we discuss
cannot be realised without proper financing and without
unlocking private investment, including through carbon
markets.
Fourth, a deal must include an equitable global
governance structure that addresses the needs of
developing countries. All countries must have a voice in
how resources are deployed and managed.
A comprehensive, equitable and ambitious deal in
Copenhagen can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
limit global temperature rise to a scientifically safe level.
It can catalyse clean energy growth. Furthermore, it can –
and it must – help to protect the most vulnerable nations
and communities from the impacts of climate change.
If there is one lesson to be learned from the climate
crisis and the multiple global crises of the past year –
food, fuel, flu, financial – it is this: we share one planet,
one home. As people, as nations, as a species, we sink
or swim together.
Across the globe, governments, businesses and
civil society increasingly recognise that we have the
knowledge and the means to tackle the climate
challenge. Let us seize the opportunity that today’s
confluence of crises is giving us, so that tomorrow’s
generations can look back and say: “Our leaders rose
to the challenge. They did what was right.”
Author
Ban Ki-moon, of the Republic of Korea, is the eighth
Secretary-General of the United Nations, bringing
37 years of service, both in government and on the
global stage.
At the time of his election as Secretary-General, Mr
Ban was his country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and
Trade. His long tenure with the ministry included
postings in New Delhi, Washington DC and Vienna,
and responsibility for a variety of portfolios, including
Foreign Policy Advisor to the President, Chief National
Security Advisor to the President, Deputy Minister for
Policy Planning and Director-General of American
Affairs. Throughout this service, his guiding vision
was that of a peaceful Korean peninsula, playing an
expanding role for peace and prosperity in the region
and the wider world.
Organisation
In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San
Francisco at the United Nations Conference on
International Organization to draw up the United
Nations Charter. The UN officially came into
existence on 24 October 1945, when the Charter
had been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union,
the UK, the US and a majority of other signatories.
The purposes of the United Nations, as set forth in
the Charter, are to maintain international peace and
security; to develop friendly relations among nations;
to cooperate in solving international economic,
social, cultural and humanitarian problems and in
promoting respect for human rights and fundamental
freedoms; and to be a centre for harmonising the
actions of nations in attaining these ends.
Enquiries
Website: www.un.org/sg/
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