UN report defines global warming as greatest challenge

Hanoi Times - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says that global warming is unequivocal and could cause irreversible damage to the planet.

Launching the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel o­n Climate Change (IPCC) o­n November 17, Secretary General Ban said that slowing and even reversing the effects of climate change “is the defining challenge of our age,” according to news reporters.

Ban said the report from the IPCC, which brings together hundreds of scientific experts, will assist in advancing world efforts to tackle climate change.

He emphasised that work to find new and improved production, consumption and disposal methods must continue. He also said environmentally-friendly industries that spur development and employment must be promoted.

The report, released in Valencia, Spain, is the combination of three IPCC reports issued earlier this year that examine the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and ways to mitigate and adapt to the environmental phenomenon.

It is expected to form the basis of discussions in Bali next month when world leaders gather to negotiate the next agreement to deal with greenhouse gas emissions when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

The Secretary General urged that the Bali meeting must not come to a close without achieving any agreement to launch for negotiations for a comprehensive climate change deal that both developed and developing nations can embrace.-