Secretary-General Welcomes Findings of Climate Change Panel,

 

Urges All Countries to Reach Global Agreement in 2015

 

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

The Secretary-General welcomes the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report on the mitigation of climate change that was released today in Berlin, Germany.  The Report states that global greenhouse gas emissions are continuing to rise at an accelerated pace.  The IPCC concludes that urgent action is needed to limit the increase in global mean temperature to two degrees Celsius and that action now will be far less costly than postponing action for the future.

According to the IPCC, there are many pathways still available to significantly reduce emissions.  They require using a wide range of technologies and activities that will help the world transition to a low-carbon future and will enable economies to grow and flourish.  The Secretary-General urges all countries to act swiftly and boldly on climate change, to bring ambitious announcements and actions to the Climate Summit on 23 September 2014, and to make every effort needed to reach a global, ambitious and legal climate agreement in 2015.

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For information media • not an official record