World Environment Day calls for end to carbon addiction
By Gyles Beckford Wed Jun 4, 10:45 PM ET
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - The United Nations urged the world on Thursday to kick
an all-consuming addiction to carbon dioxide and said everyone must take steps
to fight climate change.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said global warming was becoming the
defining issue of the era and will hurt rich and poor alike.
"Our world is in the grip of a dangerous carbon habit," Ban said in a statement
to mark World Environment Day, which is being marked by events around the globe
and hosted by the New Zealand city of Wellington.
"Addiction is a terrible thing. It consumes and controls us, makes us deny
important truths and blinds us to the consequences of our actions," he said in
the speech to reinforce this year's World Environment Day theme of "CO2 Kick
the Habit."
"Whether you are an individual, an organization, a business or a government,
there are many steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint. It is a
message we all must take to heart," he said.
World Environment Day, conceived in 1972, is the United Nations' principal day
to mark global green issues and aims to give a human face to environmental
problems and solutions.
New Zealand, which boasts snow-capped mountains, pristine fjords and isolated
beaches used as the backdrop for the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy, has
pledged to become carbon-neutral.
"We take pride in our clean, green identity as a nation and we are determined
to take action to protect it. We appreciate that protecting the climate means
behavior change by each and every one of us," said New Zealand Prime Minister
Helen Clark.
New Zealand, like many countries, staged art and street festivals to spread the
message on how people can reduce carbon usage. New Zealand Post has asked staff
to bring a magazine or book to work and swap it to reduce their carbon
footprint.
In Australia, Adelaide Zoo staged a wild breakfast for corporate leaders to
focus on how carbon emissions threaten animal habitats.
GLOBAL EVENTS
In Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, people plan to clean up Gulshan Baridhara Lake
that has become badly polluted, and in Kathmandu the Bagmati River Festival
will focus on cleaning up the river there.
Many Asian cities, such as Bangalore and Mumbai, plan tree-planting campaigns,
while the Indian town of Pune will open a "Temple of Environment" to help
spread green awareness.
Global carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels are rising quickly and
scientists say the world faces rising seas, melting glaciers and more intense
storms, droughts and floods as the planet warms.
A summit of G8 nations in Hokkaido, Japan, next month, is due to formalize a
goal agreed a year ago that global carbon emissions should be reduced by 50
percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
But some nations think the cuts should be deeper, leading to a reduction of 80
percent of carbon emissions by 2050 to try to stabilize CO2 concentrations in
the air to limit global warming.
The U.N. Environment Program (UNEP) said the cost of greening of the world's
economy would cost as little as a few tenths of global GDP annually over 30
years and would be a driving force for innovation, new businesses and
employment.
The UNEP urged greater energy efficiency in buildings and appliances and a
switch towards cleaner and renewable forms of electricity generation and
transport systems.
It said more than 20 percent of new investment in renewable energy was in
developing countries, with China, India and Brazil taking the lion's share.
Renewables now provide over 5 percent of global power generation and 18 percent
of new investment in power.
But the U.N. body said an estimated 20 percent of carbon emissions came from
deforestation and urged developing nations to save their forests as carbon
sinks.
(Writing by Michael Perry; Editing by David Fogarty)
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