10 December 2014
Ban Ki-moon: ‘collective action does not match our common responsibilities’ regarding climate change
Urging the 20th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to ‘act now’, UN officials in Lima, Peru stressed that fully tackling the impacts of man-made climate change requires a transformation – not mere ‘tinkering’ with past agreements and pledges.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for increased momentum in global efforts. While governments were responding in unprecedented ways and businesses and communities worldwide were also stepping up, he warned that ‘collective action does not match our common responsibilities’.
President of the UN General Assembly, Sam Kutesa, warned that the world was moving towards a ‘tipping point’. ‘Without immediate and concerted efforts, it will be impossible for the present and succeeding generations to achieve sustainable development’, he said. Stressing the importance of mitigation measures to ‘step back from the precipice of catastrophic climate change consequences’, he underlined the need for collective, international political will to transform the current economic and social models into low carbon and ultimately climate neutral economies.
Source: UN News Centre | Ban urges Lima conference to agree draft text as basis for 2015 climate deal