by Xinhua writer Guo Xinyu
BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- This week, the whole world is watching.
It has been a busy week for world leaders, who gathered in the United States to attend a string of UN pow-wows and a G-20 summit on global issues ranging from climate change to the financial crisis.
Stepping upon the UN podium one by one, the leaders staked out their countries' positions and grabbed global attention as they shared their wisdom on how to deal with the threats facing mankind.
The whole world is watching - even as the week of multilateral meetings and talks is drawing to a close. The world leaders' words are still echoing, waiting to be matched with deeds.
CURBING CLIMATE CHANGE: THE CLOCK IS TICKING
Many pledges were made at the climate change summit, but substantial progress should be made, and made quickly, because the Copenhagen conference is less than 80 days away.
Climate change negotiations have stalled on several fronts, including a division between rich and developing nations on what is expected and how much funding the industrialized nations should provide.
That is why a UN climate change summit was held this week to generate political momentum so that a fair, effective and comprehensive global deal can be hammered out in Copenhagen to help stop climate change from worsening and slipping out of control.
Speaking at Tuesday's UN climate change summit, Chinese President Hu Jintao unveiled a number of climate targets and plans of China, including a promise to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by "a notable margin" by 2020 from the 2005 level.
"The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities embodies the consensus of the international community," Hu said.
The Chinese president urged developed countries to fulfill the task of emissions reduction set in the Kyoto Protocol and to support developing countries in countering climate change.
U.S. President Barack Obama admitted the urgency of the issue and said that "the developed nations that caused much of the damage to our climate over the last century still have a responsibility to lead."
However, the American president was vague in terms of what his country could promise and failed to give details. He also attempted to make developing countries shoulder extra obligations beyond what was set in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol.
Making his UN debut like Obama, Japan's recently elected Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Japan would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. However, Japan's precondition is that all economies, including the developing ones, reach a deal on an emissions cut target.
"Failure to reach broad agreement in Copenhagen would be morally inexcusable, economically short-sighted and politically unwise," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned.
As climate negotiators gather in Bangkok on Sept. 28 to attend a new round of UN climate change talks to prepare for the Copenhagen conference, the stakes are high.
WORLD FINANCIAL CRISIS: STILL NOT OUT OF THE WOODS
The world economy, once mired in a deep and nasty crisis, is slowly getting back on its feet. But the coast is not clear, as world trade is being overshadowed by sharply rising protectionist measures.
There is no denying that protectionism doesn't help anyone, so leaders at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh said it was imperative to stand together to fight the problem.
Besides, the financial crisis continues to throw millions of people into poverty and is reversing some of the hard-won development gains of the past decade, a UN report said.
Joblessness also remains high in many countries, including the United States, where the unemployment rate has hit 9.7 percent, the highest level since 1983.
Therefore, the G-20 leaders said "our work is not done," pledging to maintain stimulus measures to support economic activity until recovery is fully assured.
The Leaders' Statement issued after the G-20 summit ended said that far more needs to be done to protect consumers, depositors, and investors against abusive market practices. The statement vowed to strengthen the international financial regulatory system to avoid future crisis.
The leaders agreed to improve their support for emerging and developing countries and to increase developing countries' voting weight at the IMF by at least 5 percent. That move was hailed by He Yafei, China's vice foreign minister, as a key achievement of the summit.
MULTILATERALISM: A NECESSARY APPROACH
From curbing climate change to pushing for nuclear disarmament, voices calling for global cooperation and multilateralism were heard once again this week.
"The economy is global. We find ourselves in the same boat," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said during the G-20 summit.
Medvedev's words echoed with those of Ban, who called for "genuine" collective action to tackle climate change as well as global poverty and nuclear proliferation.
"If ever there were a time to act in a spirit of renewed multilateralism -- a moment to create a United Nations of genuine collective action -- it is now," Ban said.
Different from George W. Bush's go-it-alone style, Obama suggested global engagement and cooperation to solve the world's most pressing problems.
In his speech to the General Assembly, Hu also stressed the importance of cooperation, tolerance and mutual trust.
"The only way for us to meet these challenges and ensure harmony and peace is to engage in closer international cooperation," the Chinese president said.
The week of multilateral meetings and talks demonstrated the political will of the world leaders to promote international cooperation in the face of various existing and looming threats and challenges.
This week, the whole world is watching, looking forward to seeing the words translated into deeds.
Special Report: President Hu attends G20, three UN summits
