Industry Can Fuel New Commitment to Cleaner Energy Sources, Greater Efficiency,

 

Secretary-General Says in Message to UN Industrial Development Organization

 

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the thirteenth session of the General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Vienna today, 7 December:

I am pleased to send my greetings to all participants in the thirteenth session of the General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.  I welcome this meeting’s focus on how industry can become a vehicle for sustainable, green growth.

You meet as the crucial Climate Change Conference opens in Copenhagen.  From all corners of the globe, we are seeing unprecedented momentum for Governments to act quickly and decisively.  Our shared goal is a fair and effective agreement that will reduce emissions while helping vulnerable communities adapt.  Copenhagen can and must generate practical results right away while providing a firm foundation for a legally binding climate treaty as early as possible in 2010.  Science demands that we act.  So does economic common sense.

Industry is central to this effort.  Industry and industrial policy can fuel new ways of thinking and acting, including a commitment to cleaner sources of energy and energy efficiency; a decisive move towards a low-carbon economy; and a new path to prosperity for the billions of people who have limited access to energy, water and other basics.

UNIDO has played an important part in highlighting the key role of industry in combating climate change, including through major conferences this year in Vienna, Manila and León, Mexico.  UNIDO has also consistently emphasized that the next industrial revolution should be both green and global, leaving no country behind.

Let us hope that this message resonates strongly in the coming days ‑‑ both here in Vienna and in Copenhagen.  I wish you every success in your deliberations.

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For information media • not an official record