U.N. Meeting of World Leaders on Climate Change is Largest Ever

A large meeting of world leaders, officials, and other representatives is being held at the U.N. to discuss the issue of climate change and potential solutions to it.

According to a press release issued by the United Nations on Monday, the largest ever meeting of world leaders on the issue of climate change is being held at the U.N. headquarters in New York City. The meeting, which is called "The Future in our Hands: Addressing the Leadership Challenge of Climate Change", includes top officials from 150 countries, among them eighty heads of government/state.

It quoted the U.N. Secretary-General as emphasizing the importance of climate change and the future impact of not addressing it sufficiently. He also pointed out the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's findings that global warming (a phrase which is often used interchangeably with "climate change") is directly linked to human activities. He claimed that economies could grow while reducing emissions at the same time.

Sessions of the meeting will be held on the related subjects of mitigation, adaptation, technology, and financing. The press release indicates that speakers at the meeting will include the Secretary-General, U.N. officials, world leaders, and other representatives. The Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the Mayor of Delhi, Arti Mehra, were also invited to the meeting so as to provide details on measures being taken under their jurisdictions to reduce climate change.

Another press release issued by the U.N. on the same day quoted the U.N. General Assembly President as saying that science proving the significance of climate change is "unequivocal", calling it a "moral obligation" to address the issue. He called on all nations and localities to take part in the solution to climate change, referring to it as the "biggest challenge" facing mankind at present. He also spoke of a U.N. Climate Change Conference which is to take place in Bali, Indonesia this December.

According to a Voice of America news story released on Monday, other speakers at the meeting in New York will include the President of France, the Chancellor of Germany, the U.S. Secretary of State, and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. It indicated that the meeting is to last one day, while the longer conference in December will be intended to begin the creation of a new agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol, when it expires in 2012. The news story also states that Monday's meeting is for the purpose of creating "political momentum" before the conference in December.

Sources:

1. United Nations, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=23926
2. United Nations, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=23930
3. VOA, http://voanews.com/english/2007-09-24-voa29.cfm