ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-moon urged here on Sunday the international community to move quickly to secure the resources in addressing climate change.
Speaking at the opening of the 14th summit of the African Union (AU), Ban ki-moon said African countries are among the least responsible yet the most susceptible to climate change impacts.
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| United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses the opening ceremony of the 14th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, Jan. 31, 2010. The 14th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union opened here Sunday. (Xinhua/Xu Suhui) |
Ban said it is just one month since the Copenhagen Climate Conference, and the Copenhagen Accord represents an important step forward.
"I welcome those African countries who have already become associated with the Accord and I urge others to do the same."
"We must keep up the momentum toward achieving a binding global climate agreement as soon as possible," the UN chief said.
He said addressing the climate challenge takes resources, significant resources.
Developing countries need assistance to rapidly scale-up clean energy efforts, and they also need significant support to adapt to the consequences of climate change, the UN chief said.
"In Copenhagen, countries agreed on comprehensive support for the most vulnerable. Some 30 billion (U.S. dollars) is to be immediately mobilized and put into circulation over the next three years for adaption and mitigation efforts in developing countries, " he noted.
"Looking forward, 100 billion annually is to be mobilized per year by 2020 for developing countries."
The UN chief said he would soon launch a high level panel on climate change, which would address climate change issues comprehensively in the context of sustainable development.
The three-day AU summit is convened under the theme " Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Africa: Challenges and prospects for Development".
