World told to act now on climate change as 'Arctic is screaming'

 

Last updated at 14:16pm on 12th December 2007 Comments (5)

The United Nations secretary-general today urged the world to agree a sweeping new treaty to tackle climate change.

Ban Ki-moon urged developed countries to take the lead and said developing nations needed to be given incentives to curb emissions.

 

He added: "Together, we can spur a new era of green economics, an era of truly sustainable development based on clean technology and a low-emission economy."

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Moral challenge: Ban Ki-moon speaks during the conference yesterday

 

Party for the planet: Kylie Minogue, Annie Lennox and Alicia Keys (pictured) celebrated Al Gore's Nobel peace prize triumph in Oslo as the former US vice president called climate change a 'moral imperative'

 

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• The Pope condemns the climate change prophets

 

Mr Ban told ministers gathering in Bali that global warming was "the moral challenge of our generation... and the time to act is now."

His comments came as Pope Benedict XVI yesterday launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology.

 

The meeting was taking place as scientists warned that global warming had passed an ominous tipping point. "The Arctic is screaming," said Mark Serreze, a senior US scientist.

 

Mr Ban opened the conference by saying: "We cannot rob our children of their future. The eyes of the world are upon us. This is a historic moment long in the making. The science is clear, climate change is happening, the impact is real."

The delegates are hoping to agree a "Bali road map" leading to further cuts in greenhouse gas emissions when the Kyoto Protocol targets expire in 2012.

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Protest: Environmental activists at the conference yesterday

 

 

The existing agreement commits 36 industrialised nations to reduce greenhouse emissions by an average of five per cent.

 

But the pact has been severely weakened by Washington's refusal to join. The US is the top emitter of such gases, though some say it has been overtaken by China.

 

The UN now wants developed countries to commit to cuts of 25 to 40 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020.

 

Failing to act would bring a high price, Mr Ban warned - including floods, famine, rising sea levels and loss of biodiversity. It would be far higher than the costs of taking action.

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Standing on ceremony: Ban Ki-moon attends a ceremony for the 10th anniversary of the Kyoto protocol

 

"Climate change is as much an opportunity as it is a threat. It is our chance to usher in a new age of green economics and truly sustainable development."

 

He said countries needed to agree to negotiate a comprehensive climate change agreement.

 

The atmosphere did not differentiate between a power station in Asia, a gas guzzler in North America-or deforestation, he added. Mr Ban said: "The issue of equity is crucial. Climate change affects us all, but it does not affect us all equally. Those who are least able to cope are being hit hardest.

 

"Those who have done the least to cause the problem bear the gravest consequences. We have an ethical obligation to right this injustice. We have a duty to protect the most vulnerable.

 

"But we must also take action on the immediate challenges."

Mr Ban said leaving Bali without agreement on a road map to a new international climate change deal would mean they had failed the people of the world and future generations.

 

At the opening ceremony, the new Australian prime minister, Kevin Rudd, who is one of a handful of heads of state attending the conference, received a prolonged round of applause for signing the Kyoto protocol as one of his first actions after winning the election.

Lies.

 

They are pushing a global carbon tax based on seriously misleading information - and a whole lotta lies.

 

Add pictures of falling ice and some polar bears and the masses are sold. It's unbelievable.