UN urges clean energy revolution

UAE: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on Monday for a clean energy revolution that would reduce climate risks, cut poverty and improve global health.

"Our challenge is transformation. We need a global clean energy revolution - a revolution that makes energy available and affordable for all," he told participants in the fourth edition of the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi.

"This is essential for minimising climate risks, for reducing poverty and improving global health, for empowering women and meeting the Millennium Development Goals, for global economic growth, peace and security, and the health of the planet," he said in his keynote speech.

"You can lead this revolution, and in many ways, many of you are already doing so," he told more than 3,000 delegates gathered at the international summit and exhibition.

Ban's call came as the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said the oil-producers cartel OPEC should be "alarmed" at the rising price of oil, now nearing 100 dollars per barrel. "The current price level is alarming; OPEC must continue to be alarmed about the future," Nobuo Tanaka told Dow Jones Newswires during a sideline interview. Meanwhile, Ban praised last month's international meeting on climate change in Cancun for the progress made on financing the fight against global warming and deforestation, "which accounts for nearly one-fifth of global warming." AFP