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United Nations: We Must Kick Carbon Habit, Secretary-General Stresses,
Likening Dependence On Fossil Fuels To Addiction In Message For World
Environment Day 2008
(M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge)
RDATE:04092008
Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's message for
World Environment Day 2008, to be observed on 5 June:
Addiction is a terrible thing. It consumes and controls us, makes us
deny important truths and blinds us to the consequences of our actions.
Our world is in the grip of a dangerous carbon habit.
Coal and oil paved the way for the developed world's industrial
progress. Fast-developing countries are now taking the same path in
search of equal living standards. Meanwhile, in the least developed
countries, even less sustainable energy sources, such as charcoal,
remain the only available option for the poor.
Our dependence on carbon-based energy has caused a significant build-up
of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Last year, the Nobel Peace
Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change put the final
nail in the coffin of global-warming sceptics. We know that climate
change is happening, and we know that carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases that we emit are the cause.
We don't just burn carbon in the form of fossil fuels.
Throughout the tropics, valuable forests are being felled for timber
and making paper, for pasture and arable land and, increasingly, for
plantations to supply a growing demand for biofuels. This further
manifestation of our carbon habit not only releases vast amounts of
CO[2;] it also destroys a valuable resource for absorbing atmospheric
carbon, further contributing to climate change.
The environmental, economic and political implications of global
warming are profound. Ecosystems -- from mountain to ocean, from the
poles to the tropics -- are undergoing rapid change. Low-lying cities
face inundation, fertile lands are turning to desert, and weather
patterns are becoming ever more unpredictable.
The cost will be borne by all. The poor will be hardest hit by
weather-related disasters and by soaring price inflation for staple
foods, but even the richest nations face the prospect of economic
recession and a world in conflict over diminishing resources.
Mitigating climate change, eradicating poverty and promoting economic
and political stability all demand the same solution: we must kick the
carbon habit.
This is the theme for World Environment Day 2008. "Kick the Habit:
Towards a Low-Carbon Economy", recognizes the damaging extent of our
addiction, and it shows the way forward.
Often we need a crisis to wake us to reality. With the climate crisis
upon us, businesses and Governments are realizing that, far from
costing the Earth, addressing global warming can actually save money
and invigorate economies.
While the estimated costs of climate change are incalculable, the price
tag for fighting it may be less than any of us may have thought. Some
estimates put the cost at less than 1 per cent of global gross domestic
product -- a cheap price indeed for waging a global war.
Even better news is that technologies already exist or are under
development to make our consumption of carbon-based fuels cleaner and
more efficient, and to harness the renewable power of sun, wind and
waves. The private sector, in particular, is competing to capitalize on
what they recognize as a massive business opportunity.
Around the world, nations, cities, organizations and businesses are
looking afresh at green options. At the United Nations, I have
instructed that the plan for renovating our New York Headquarters
should follow strict environmental guidelines. I have also asked the
chief executives of all United Nations programmes, funds and
specialized agencies to move swiftly towards carbon neutrality.
Earlier this year, the United Nations Environment Programme launched a
climate-neutral network -- CN Net -- to energize this growing trend.
Its inaugural members, which include countries, cities and companies,
are pioneers in a movement that I believe will increasingly define
environmental, economic and political discourse and decision-making
over the coming decades.
The message of World Environment Day 2008 is that we are all part of
the solution. Whether you are an individual, an organization, a
business or a Government, there are many steps you can take to reduce
your carbon footprint. It is a message we all must take to heart.
((M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information
provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties.
Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at
http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to
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Copyright ? 2008 M2 Communications Ltd.
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