There was a tinge of urgency in the Secretary General’s remarks to the Global Environment Forum in his native Korea yesterday.
As we move toward Copenhagen in December, we must “Seal a Deal” on climate change that secures our common future. I’m glad that the Chairman of the forum and many other speakers have used my campaign slogan “Seal the Deal” in Copenhagen. I won’t charge them [r]oyalty. Please use this “Seal the Deal” as widely as possible, as much as you can. We must seal the deal in Copenhagen for the future of humanity.
We have just four months. Four months to secure the future of our planet.
[SNIP]
Let me be clear about what we need to do.
There are four points [of] very important key political issues.
First industrialized countries must lead by committing to binding mid-term reduction targets on the order of 25 to 40 per cent below 1990 levels.
Unfortunately, the mid-term emission targets announced so far are not close enough to this range. This must change. That is why I am urging at this time, that the Korean government should take more ambitious targets.
Second, developing countries need to take nationally appropriate mitigation actions in order to reduce the growth in their emissions substantially below business as usual.
Their actions must be measurable, reportable and verifiable.
Third, developed countries must provide sufficient, measurable, reportable and verifiable financial and technological support to developing countries.
This will allow developing countries to pursue their mitigation efforts as part of their sustainable green growth strategies and to adapt to accelerating climate impacts.
Significant resources will be needed from both public and private sources.
Developing countries, especially the most vulnerable, will collectively need billions of dollars in public financing for adaptation.
I am talking here about new money – not re-packaged Official Development Assistance. This is one of the most important issues which we are going to discuss on September 22nd in New York, and this year again at the G20 Summit Meeting in Pittsburgh on September 24th.
Fourth, we need an equitable and accountable mechanism for distributing these financial and technological resources, taking into account the views of all countries in decision-making.