UN Chief urges business to back climate change deal

COPENHAGEN: UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Sunday made an impassioned plea for a “cleaner, greener” world economy as he urged business leaders meeting in Copenhagen to back a new, global warming pact.

“Today, I want to challenge you. I want to see you in the vanguard of an unprecedented effort to retool the global economy into one that is cleaner, greener and more sustainable,” the UN secretary general said in opening remarks in front off hundreds of business leaders in the Danish capital.

“With your support, and through your example, we must harness the necessary political will to seal the deal on an ambitious new climate agreement in December,” said Ban.

The United Nations hopes to conclude negotiations in Copenhagen in December for a new global warming deal to replace the Kyoto protocol on cutting carbon emissions that expires in 2012.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded in early 2007 that global warming, if unchecked, would unleash a devastating amalgam of floods, drought, disease and extreme weather by the end of this century. “Climate change is the defining challenge of our time,” the UN boss noted.

Sunday’s conference brings together executives from some of the world’s leading companies such as Intel Corporation, BP and Siemens to discuss ways companies can help reduce greenhouse gases without hampering economic growth.

The meeting also aims to encourage businesses to invest in green technology and promote more efficient use of energy resources.

Monday, AFP