BUDAPEST, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom proposed setting up a U.N.-based world environment organization with enhanced powers, during his address to the World Science Forum in Budapest on Thursday.

    "Globalization can only benefit the world if powerful international environmental governance sets it on a path of sustainability," the president said.

    Solyom said that governments need to take very concrete measures to resolve the conflict between economic growth and the current needs of society on the one hand and the needs of future generations on the other.

    The president said the World Science Forum was an excellent opportunity for science and politics to question one another.

    But while there is no shortage of policies, programs and agreements based on scientific predictions -- and that the public already considers climate change to be an issue that demands attention -- politics alone simply does not have the power to combat economic interests.

    The European Union, he said, can only maintain the credibility of its plans in the Third World if it demonstrates its ability to assist its new members in rapid economic development and improving living standards.

    The World Science Forum, being held for the third time in Budapest, brought together 400 scientists and scholars from over 60 countries, as well as senior political decision-makers. The three-day conference is entitled "Investing in Knowledge, Investing in the Future".