UN's Ban urges swift climate pact, warns of disaster
03 Sep 2009 08:39:51 GMT Source: Reuters
* Ban warns conference of risks of economic disaster * Says seas could rise by up to 2 metres by 2100 By Alister Doyle and Sven Egenter GENEVA, Sept 3 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Thursday for faster work on a new climate treaty to fend off what he said could be economic disaster and a rise in sea levels of up to 2 metres (6.5 ft) by 2100. "We will pay a high price if we do not act," he told a 155-nation climate conference in Geneva of a drive to agree a United Nations deal to combat global warming in December in Copenhagen. "Our foot is stuck on the accelerator and we are heading towards an abyss," Ban said after a trip to view the melting Arctic ice off Norway, saying greenhouse gas emissions were still rising fast despite plans to rein in growth. "Climate change could spell widespread economic disaster," Ban said in the speech. "By the end of this century, sea levels may rise between half a metre and two metres." His sea level projection is far above the range of 18 to 59 cms (7-24 inches) given in 2007 by the U.N.'s own panel of experts. Their estimates did not include the possibility of an accelerated melt of vast ice in Antarctica or Greenland. "Despite the evidence ... despite the science ... despite the growing calls from enlightened business, we still face inertia," Ban said of the climate talks. He said he had just been to the Arctic Ocean north of Norway and seen change at first hand. "We cannot afford limited progress. We need rapid progress," in the climate negotiations, he said. Ban said he hoped a summit of world leaders he will host in New York on Sept. 22 would give a new push. "Political support for climate action is growing. But still not fast enough," he said. The Aug. 31-Sept. 4 conference of about 1,500 delegates in Geneva, including about 20 heads of state and 80 ministers, is agreeing a new system to improve monitoring and information of the climate to help everyone from farmers to energy investors. It is not directly linked to the Copenhagen talks. CLIMATE SERVICES The Geneva conference is agreeing to set up a "Global Framework for Climate Services" to help the world adapt to changes such as more floods, wildfires, droughts, rising seas or more disease. Experts say better forecasting of rains in Botswana, for instance, is allowing doctors to deploy anti-mosquito nets to head off outbreaks of malaria before the insects appear. And farmers want to know how a projected thaw of Himalayan glaciers will disrupt water flows in rivers in India or China. U.S. investors in wind farms could also benefit from information on future wind patterns, rather than relying on historical trends. The Geneva deal would "strengthen production, availability, delivery and application of science-based climate prediction and services," a statement said. Under the deal, the World Meteorological Organization would set up a task force of advisers who would then have a year to report with proposals about how it would work. The Geneva talks are the third world climate conference. Meetings in 1979 and 1990 helped lay the foundations for more scientific observations and a U.N. 1992 Climate Convention. (For Reuters latest environment blogs click on: http://blogs.reuters.com/environment/) (Additional reporting by Laura MacInnis; Editing by Janet Lawrence) (For a graphic of rising sea levels: http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/RNGS/SEP/OCEANS.jpg)
Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama (C) speaks to followers at a speech closed to the media at his hotel in Taipei September 3, 2009. Taiwan officials have asked the ...
