UN chief ‘deeply concerned’ over lacking climate action

WARSAW, Poland – United Nations leader Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday, November 19, he was ‘deeply concerned’ that countries were not doing enough to limit global warming.

“I am deeply concerned that the scale of our action is still insufficient to limit the global temperature rise to below two degrees Celsius (3.6 deg Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial levels,” he told climate negotiators gathered in Warsaw.

“Climate change threatens current and future generations – we need to look no further than last week’s catastrophe in the Philippines,” said the UN secretary general, referring to killer Typhoon Yolanda (international codename: Haiyan).

Environment ministers arrived in Warsaw on Tuesday, hoping to add momentum to the troubled UN talks targeting a new, global pact on climate change by 2015. (READ: Divisive UN climate talks head into final stretch)

With just four days left in the notoriously fractious annual negotiations, delegates and observers said scant progress had been made, particularly on the question of finance to help poorer nations deal with climate change.

Ban urged countries to “step up finance” and boost their commitments to reducing Earth-warming greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from fossil fuel combustion.

“I urge you to construct an urgent agenda… Current pledges are simply inadequate. We must set the bar higher,” he said. – Rappler.com