UN chief calls for consensus on emissions

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Tuesday stressed that the forthcoming UN conference on climate change in Durban, South Africa, should produce agreement on limiting emissions of greenhouse gases, and launch the green climate fund for mitigation and adaptation in developing countries. "In Durban, I expect governments to find a way forward for the Kyoto Protocol so we can make a broader comprehensive climate agreement possible," the secretary-general said in his remarks at a meeting here on climate change organized by Britain's permanent mission to the United Nations. The Nov. 28-Dec.9 conference in Durban will bring together representatives from governments, international organizations and civil society to discuss implementation of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, as well as the Bali Action Plan, agreed in 2007, and the Cancun Agreements of last year. The Kyoto Protocol is an addition to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that contains legally binding measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Its first commitment period is due to expire in 2012. The parties to the convention are expected to discuss carrying forward the protocol's commitments beyond 2012. The secretary-general urged governments to launch the Green Climate Fund, which was established last year in Cancun, Mexico. " But it must not be an empty shell -- a fund in name only. Governments must provide the 100 billion (U.S.) dollars that was pledged. This would be a welcome concrete outcome at Durban." On his Sustainable Energy for All initiative, the secretary- general said he had set three objectives to be achieved by 2030 -- universal access to modern energy services, doubling the rate at which energy efficiency is improved, and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. "Together, these goals can help to end energy poverty and catalyze a clean energy revolution that benefits all humanity. They can complement and feed into the climate negotiations," he said. The meeting in Durban must be the "stepping stone towards a comprehensive, ambitious global climate agreement," he added. "Experience in successful multilateral negotiations shows that we need a group of countries that is constructive, progressive and far-sighted -- countries that have the political will and courage to find compromise solutions," he said.