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UN chief urges business to back climate change deal
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  • COPENHAGEN, May 24 (AFP) May 24, 2009
    UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Sunday made an impassioned plea for a "cleaner, greener" world economy as he urged business leaders meeting in Copenhagen to back a new, global warming pact.

    "Today, I want to challenge you. I want to see you in the vanguard of an unprecedented effort to retool the global economy into one that is cleaner, greener and more sustainable," the UN secretary general said in opening remarks to hundreds of business leaders in the Danish capital.

    "With your support, and through your example, we must harness the necessary political will to seal the deal on an ambitious new climate agreement in December," added Ban, who arrived earlier Sunday from Sri Lanka where he had been on a two-day visit.

    The United Nations hopes to conclude negotiations in Copenhagen in December for a new global warming deal to replace the Kyoto protocol on cutting carbon emissions that expires in 2012.

    The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded in early 2007 that global warming, if unchecked, would unleash a devastating amalgam of floods, drought, disease and extreme weather by the end of this century.

    "Climate change is the defining challenge of our time," the UN boss noted. "I also believe it is the most potent game-changer for business over the next century. It is an opportunity we must seize."

    Sunday's conference brings together executives from some of the world's leading companies such as Intel Corporation, BP and Siemens to discuss ways companies can help reduce greenhouse gases without hampering economic growth.

    The meeting also aims to encourage businesses to invest in green technology and promote more efficient use of energy resources.

    Organisers want to raise awareness of environmental issues before the Danish capital hosts the UN's Climate Change Conference late this year.

    Also attending Sunday's conference are European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and former US vice-president turned climate campaigner Al Gore.

    In his speech, Ban stressed an effective deal in Copenhagen in December "would be a powerful vote of confidence in multilateralism."

    "What we need is political will, at the highest level, coupled with the right policy signals and market incentives," he added.

    The UN boss said he planned to convene a climate change summit on the margins of the UN General Assembly session in September to "galvanize this political will."

    "Business leaders will also be a part of the conversation," he said. "A strong message from the business community to governments worldwide may make all the difference."

    During his two-day stay here, Ban was also to meet Denmark's Queen Margrethe II, Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen and other Danish ministers.

    He leaves Denmark for Finland on Monday to start a two-day official visit.




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