‘ENERGY REVOLUTION’ NEEDED TO CHART PATH TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE, PROSPEROUS,

INCLUSIVE FUTURE, SAYS DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL TO SLOVENIA FORUM

 

Following is UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro’s address to the Bled Strategic Forum in Bled, Slovenia, 31 August:

I am delighted to join you today for this timely conversation on the strategic challenges of climate change and energy security.

As you know better than anyone, humanity’s current path to growth has become increasingly unsustainable. 

A multitude of pressing crises, from food and energy prices to the devastating impacts of climate change, are sounding the alarm that the old economic development model is no longer feasible.  It has become increasingly clear that our carbon-intensive economies cannot continue to deliver -– we need a new path to prosperity.

This new path has to be sustainable, and it needs to be inclusive.  After all, one of the greatest failures of the recent decades of prosperity is that it largely bypassed the bottom 40 per cent of the world’s population, some 2.6 billion people in all.  Fortunately, we collectively have both the resources and the know-how to chart just such a path towards a sustainable, prosperous and inclusive future.

But this future can only come about if we act to address the twin challenges of climate change and energy.  Quite simply, the world needs an energy revolution that will help anchor global economic and social transformation.

This transformation requires measures that dramatically increase energy efficiency in buildings, vehicles and appliances.  It entails greater use of innovative technologies that can help capture and store at our power plants.  It requires renewables such as wind, solar, nuclear and sustainable biofuels.  And it needs to be underpinned by rigorous standards and regulations.

But beyond an overhaul of energy sources, this revolution demands major changes in life styles, in our day-to-day habits and in the way we pursue urban development.

The developed world is well placed to embark on the needed energy revolution and economic and social transformation.  But to succeed on a truly global scale requires an unprecedented amount of international cooperation in which every country does its part regardless of its developmental stage.

After all, nearly all the heat-trapping gases accumulated in the atmosphere can be attributed to the activities of developed countries, middle-income and emerging economies.

Yet the countries most immediately affected by climate change remain the least developed ones.  In fact, the poor who have contributed the least to climate change are the ones who are suffering the most.

For instance, on average, 1 person out of 19 in a developing country will be hit by a climate disaster, compared to 1 out of 1,500 in an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development country.  Most people in rich countries can adapt to the change with little effort -– by adjusting heating and cooling systems or putting in place flood defences.

But if an impoverished farmer in Malawi loses her crop due to drought, she is likely to go hungry.  If a slum dweller living in Port-au-Prince loses his hut in cyclones, where will he go?

Similarly, increased frequency of droughts in Africa means that women are walking greater distances to fetch water, often ranging from 10 to 15 kilometres a day.  This confronts women with personal security risks, keeps young girls out of school and imposes an immense physical burden.

This grave discrepancy between historical responsibility and impact obliges us to share the burden as a matter of ethics and equity.

Thus, in addition to transforming their own economies, developed countries also need to assist developing countries with financial and technological resources to pursue a low-carbon development path.

Development is inextricably linked to energy supply.  Access to energy means access to development.  The energy needs of developing countries are vast. 

The International Energy Agency estimates that, globally, an additional $45 trillion are required for the period 2010 till 2050 to achieve energy sustainability while halving existing emissions levels.  A majority of this new investment will need to be made in developing countries.

In emerging economies, combating climate change will involve massive shifts in investment patterns in a huge range of sectors, spanning power generation, industry, waste, transport, agriculture and forestry. 

In many of those sectors, the lifetime of capital stock can be 30 years or even more:  investment decisions taken today will therefore affect the world’s emissions profile for many years to come.

The challenge is magnified by the fact that total investment in physical assets such as power plants is projected to triple between 2000 and 2030.

We need to make sure that these investments are directed, as much as possible, towards sustainable options instead of unsustainable emission pathways.

At the same time, we must also acknowledge that developing countries have a right to development.

Thus, our answer to fighting climate change and meeting the energy security challenge cannot shortchange these countries’ legitimate energy needs.

Instead, we have to help developing countries access clean energy through sharing of existing know-how and technologies and supporting technological development at an unprecedented scale. 

And we need to provide the poorest and most vulnerable nations the financial resources they need to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Looking ahead to the December climate change conference in Poznan –- and to Copenhagen in 2009 –- we must push ahead with negotiations for a comprehensive post-2012 agreement.

As a baseline, we need to set greenhouse gas reduction goals for 2050 in which every country participates.  But we also need leadership from developed countries in setting ambitious medium-term reduction targets for 2020.

These will be crucial for driving the technological changes and market transformations that are needed for a total transition of our economies into low- or zero-carbon economies.

We simply have no more time to lose.  Recent economic studies have confirmed beyond doubt that the cost of delayed action far outweighs the price of early action.

There is no alternative to collective action!  We need to act now and act forcefully.  I for one am in no doubt that, if we fail in this task, history will judge us harshly.

We in the United Nations are working on this understanding.  The very act of renovating our New York Headquarters is a statement about climate change.  We recycle our buildings, rather than tearing them down and rebuilding.  The greening of the Headquarters is an essential, as well as symbolic, step in our mission to preserve our planet for succeeding generations.

More broadly, both the Secretary-General and I have made it a personal priority to work with Member States to ensure the Organization plays its role to the full.  These issues that we are gathered here to examine are just the kind of global challenges that the United Nations is best suited to address. 

I am gratified by the universal recognition that the United Nations climate process is the appropriate forum for negotiating future global action.  We will continue to spare no effort to assist Member States in ensuring a successful outcome to the Poznan and Copenhagen processes.

The United Nations family can proudly celebrate its accomplishments in the global fight against climate change.

The Organization has, and continues, to facilitate intergovernmental negotiations to enhance global cooperation through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change process.

We have also played a catalytic role in providing and leveraging financial and technical support towards the implementation of multilateral decisions in this regard.

Furthermore, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, co-hosted by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme, has been a tremendous source of scientific information reflecting a range of expertise and geographical diversity.

It has served as a basis for multilateral agreements, notably the Framework Convention and Kyoto Protocol.

There is a unique opportunity before us.  For the first time in decades, fighting climate change and attaining energy security share a common bottom line.  By investing in greener growth, we can promote development, generate jobs, spur technological innovation, ensure energy security and address climate change.

This is our moment to seize the day -- let us grasp it together.

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For information media • not an official record