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Ban Ki-Moon appeals for action on climate change by Vanya Walker-Leigh 23 April 2009

United Nations secretary-general, Ban Ki-Moon, yesterday issued a dramatic call for global action on climate change following yesterday’s conferral ceremony during which he was invested as a Doctor Honoris Causa. He also warned that Malta’s own existence was “at risk from even a three-inch rise in sea level”. “There is little time to lose,” Mr Ban repeated several times. “The window of opportunity is closing fast. Climate change is a global threat, its impact is already upon us: no issue is more essential for our survival as a species. The cost of action is far less than the cost of inaction.” Scientists were warning that glaciers and polar ice caps were melting far faster than expected just two years ago, he continued. ‘Worst case scenarios’ in the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were already being revised. Mr Ban praised Malta for voluntarily taking on emission reduction obligations which it did not have under the UN Framework Conference on Climate Change: “I hope other countries will follow such a fine example,” he said. “It is still not clear that States will do what is necessary. Industrialised countries must take the lead to solve the problem they have caused. Mitigation (emission reduction) targets taken on by them will help instil confidence so that developing countries which are high emitters can also get on board.” This required agreement on finance and technology issues while adaptation needs of vulnerable nations must also be addressed. The economic crisis and the need to combat climate change must be simultaneously tackled, he urged. A successful outcome to the UN Climate Change conference in Copenhagen in December would unleash a signal to boost green technology and green energy. Mr Ban reiterated praise made in earlier statements both for Malta’s historic role in putting the issue of climate change on the international agenda in 1988 as well as the central role and “very distinguished leadership” in present UN negotiations of its “native son”, Ambassador for Climate Change, Michael Zammit Cutajar. He also emphasised Malta’s status as a key player to “seal the deal at Copenhagen”. During much briefer remarks on climate change to the House of Representatives, the secretary-general warned that climate change was “another factor that could lead to significant relocations of people away from increasingly uninhabitable areas”. Prime Minister, Lawrence Gonzi, recalled Malta’s commitments on emission reductions, and said that the implementation of a national climate change strategy was about to start. Malta was determined to play an active role in achieving an agreement in Copenhagen, he added. Opposition leader, Joseph Muscat, said his party emphasised climate change as a top priority, with environmental and social implications, and affecting the nation’s tourism. “If there is no action, there will be more migrants leaving Africa, due to desertification.” Malta’s historic role in putting climate change on the UN agenda in 1988 received a global accolade when Ban Ki-Moon unveiled a commemorative climate change monument in the University grounds on Tuesday afternoon. During the preceding ceremony, Dr Simone Borg, coordinator of the Environmental and Planning Unit of the Faculty of Laws saluted the “incredible foresight” in 1988 of Prof. David Attard about the need to tackle human-induced climate change with a global strategy rooted in international law and a protection mechanism, as well as his efforts to convince both the Maltese government and the international community. The government had shown “tremendous political courage” in placing the matter before the UN, in the face of scientific uncertainty and opposition of much larger States. Emphasising the socio-economic implications of climate change, University Rector, Prof. Juanito Camilleri, said that “academia must continue to play an active role in turning this matter of common concern into one of common stewardship. Can we make a difference? Indeed we must!”