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Secretary-General reiterates call for ratification of Kyoto Protocol on thenth anniversary of climate change convention's entry into force |
Press Release SG/SM/9207 SECRETARY-GENERAL
REITERATES CALL FOR RATIFICATION OF KYOTO PROTOCOL ON TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF
CLIMATE CHANGE CONVENTION'S ENTRY INTO FORCE Following is the
message by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the tenth anniversary of the entry
into force of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Ten years is not long in the history of a problem
whose scale is measured in centuries. Nevertheless, significant progress
has been achieved in the decade since the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change entered into force. The global fight against climate change is a vast
undertaking that will require sustained global citizenship and vision for
decades to come. The international community should take pride in what
it has done thus far to respond to this challenge. But only if these
efforts are truly re-energized will we place our societies on more secure
footing, and avert the calamities that the world's best science tells us lie
ahead if we continue on our present course.
ENV/DEV/754
21 March 2004:
The issue of climate change has been placed firmly on local, national and
international agendas, in the forefront of public and media scrutiny, and in
the strategies of a growing number of businesses.
Institutions and processes have been put in place to enable the world's
governments to take action, to coordinate those steps, and to measure the
results. Annual meetings of the States that are party to the Convention
-- now numbering 188 -- draw thousands of participants from governments,
business, civil society and international organizations.
The Convention has also served as an important market signal, helping new
technologies to emerge. For example, the use of wind energy is
increasing, industrial processes are being made more efficient, hybrid
vehicles are finding their way into the marketplace, and investments in
breakthrough technologies involving hydrogen use and carbon capture are on the
rise. The Convention's financial mechanism has also channelled almost
$10 billion to climate change projects in poor countries, which are the most
vulnerable to the impacts of the phenomenon.
The Convention's goal of returning the greenhouse gas emissions of
industrialized countries to their 1990 levels by the year 2000 was achieved
for those countries as a whole. However, for most individual countries,
emissions of greenhouse gases are now increasing. Atmospheric
concentrations of carbon dioxide, a key measure of long-term success, have
increased about 5 per cent in the past decade. All countries must carry
out more intensive efforts to limit future emissions, with developed countries
taking a clear lead. There is also a need for more concerted action to
adapt to climate change, since some of its effects are by now inevitable and,
indeed, we may already be seeing -- in the increased incidence of drought,
floods and extreme weather events that many regions are experiencing -? some
of the devastation that lies ahead.
This anniversary is also a moment to reiterate strong support for the
Convention's Kyoto Protocol. The Protocol's lack of entry into force
remains a major hurdle to effective global action. I call again on those
countries that have not yet ratified the Protocol to do so, and show that they
are truly committed to shouldering their global responsibilities.
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