SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES REPORT ON MITIGATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE,

SAYS PACKAGE ON WAY FORWARD MUST BE LAUNCHED AT BALI CONFERENCE

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General welcomes the report on the mitigation of climate change by Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released in Bangkok today.  The report highlights response options to address the findings of the first two IPCC reports released earlier this year.  The Secretary-General notes with concern the third report’s findings that greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 70 per cent since 1970.  Even with present mitigation and sustainable development initiatives, annual greenhouse gas emissions are expected to increase by 25 to 90 per cent in 2030 relative to 2000.

The continued growth of greenhouse gas emissions needs to be effectively stemmed.  The IPCC report confirms that mitigation options, including changes in lifestyle and consumption, are available for all sectors, but enhanced action on the part of Governments and the private sector is urgently needed.  Mitigating in a cost-effective manner can only be achieved through an enhanced international climate change regime.  Large-scale development, deployment and commercialisation of existing and new clean technologies, as well as stringent end-use efficiency standards, are an essential part of a package that can lead to significant emission reductions.

A strong framework needs to be agreed by 2010 to ensure that there is no gap between the end of the Kyoto Protocol’s first commitment period in 2012 and the entry into force of a future regime.  A comprehensive package on the way forward needs to be urgently launched at the United Nations climate change conference in Bali in December this year.  The Secretary-General calls on all parties to the Convention on Climate Change to work towards this aim with the political will to decisively abate climate change and its impacts on our planet and its peoples.  

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For information media • not an official record