This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/7009793.stm
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 4 | Version 5 |
---|---|
UN chief urges action on climate | UN chief urges action on climate |
(40 minutes later) | |
UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon has called on world leaders to act quickly to deal with climate change. | UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon has called on world leaders to act quickly to deal with climate change. |
He told a gathering of heads of state in New York that a global agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions must be negotiated through the UN. | He told a gathering of heads of state in New York that a global agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions must be negotiated through the UN. |
Leaders and representatives of 150 countries are gathering to discuss global warming and how to combat it. | Leaders and representatives of 150 countries are gathering to discuss global warming and how to combat it. |
US President George W Bush is not attending. He will host his own meeting on climate change later in the week. | US President George W Bush is not attending. He will host his own meeting on climate change later in the week. |
Mr Ban told the unprecedented gathering: "If we do not act now, the impact of climate change will be devastating," he said. | Mr Ban told the unprecedented gathering: "If we do not act now, the impact of climate change will be devastating," he said. |
"We have affordable measures and technologies to begin addressing the problem right now. What we do not have is time." | "We have affordable measures and technologies to begin addressing the problem right now. What we do not have is time." |
Political impetus | Political impetus |
The attendance of 150 countries including 80 heads of state and government makes Monday's meeting the most high-level UN gathering on climate change. | |
The rich nations and the poor nations have different responsibilities, but there is one responsibility we all have and that is action - action, action, action Arnold SchwarzeneggerCalifornia governor | |
Mr Ban said the UN was the appropriate forum to negotiate a global deal on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. | |
This is a clear indication that Mr Bush's meeting of 16 "major emitter" countries is, for Mr Ban, little more than a sideshow to the UN event, says the BBC's Matt McGrath in New York. | |
Mr Ban hopes the UN meeting will give impetus to negotiations on global warming due to take place in Bali, Indonesia, in December. | |
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger - who is attending - said it was time to stop looking back at the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on cutting emissions with suspicion. | |
"The consequences of global climate change are so pressing that it doesn't matter who was responsible for the past - what matters is who is answerable for the future," he said. | |
California has approved a law requiring industries to reduce greenhouse emissions by 25% by 2020. | |
"The rich nations and the poor nations have different responsibilities, but there is one responsibility we all have and that is action - action, action, action," Mr Schwarzenegger said. | |
Mr Bush, who does not support binding emission targets, will not take part in the formal discussions but will join Mr Ban and other key leaders for dinner. | |
He is due to host his meeting of "major emitters" in Washington on Thursday and Friday. |