Ban Ki Moon calls for Non-Aligned Movement commitment in tackling climate change
Ban Ki Moon says the Non-Aligned Movement should play “vital” role in promoting climate change issues. He said this at the organization’s 50th anniversary meeting yesterday, 25 May.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, speaking in the 50th anniversary meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Bali called for the organization to assist in “urgent global action”.
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) consists of 120 developing countries (with an additional twenty observing countries). The organization’s aim is to represent and advocate political cultural and economic interests of these countries against those of the major power bloc.
Mr. Ban sees this issue as an area where “joint action by the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement is essential.”
Mr. Ban’s call for closer collaboration between NAM and the UN comes as the organization lays out its vision for the next fifty years which consists of building a safer world, fighting extreme poverty and advancing human rights issues.
Last December, in COP16 in Cancun, 190 countries pledged to carry out climate mitigation programs and advance further actions in fighting deforestation. Mr. Ban insisted that “governments must implement fully all the agreements made at Cancun, including climate finance, protecting forests, adaptation, and technology.”
“The budget crisis around the world should not be an excuse to abandon commitments. Now is the time to strengthen the global partnership for development,” Mr. Ban stressed.
In the organization’s statement they committed to work towards a closer relation with other organizations “by strengthening multilateralism through the UN and other multilateral processes, and to participate in the reform processes of the UN and its principal organs.”
Mr. Ban called for NAM to have a proactive approach to climate mitigation and commitment to reduce carbon emissions: “Preventive action is more prudent and principled than waiting to respond to full-blown conflicts. It saves scarce resources and, more importantly, it saves lives. Conflict prevention is also intrinsically linked to our efforts to lift countries from poverty.”
In the statement the organization said that it was committed to addressing these issues of “Mutually exacerbating global crises.”
“National efforts on the ground must be accelerated to curb emissions and strengthen climate resilience.” Mr. Ban said, “As always, the UN stands ready to support these efforts, including in the vitally important area of energy access, energy efficiency, and clean energy.”
Image: UN Climate Talks | Flickr
