UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would attend the General Assembly and particularly participate in a key climate change summit, an area he said India can make important contributions.
Ban’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters here that he is aware of reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Modi will not be attending the Secretary General’s climate change summit on September 23 during the upcoming 69th UN General Assembly session that begins this month.
“I think the important issue for us is really on the commitments that countries will bring. And the Secretary-General expects every Member State to come with strong and bold commitments on climate change,” Dujarric said yesterday.
Modi is expected to reach New York on September 26 and will address the UN General Assembly the next day, giving his first global speech to an audience of nearly 200 world leaders and foreign ministers at the annual gathering of the world body’s policymaking organ.
After a grand community reception at the Madison Square Garden on September 28, Modi will head to Washington for his crucial bilateral meeting with President Barack Obama.
Dujarric had said in May that Ban expressed “hope” that Modi would attend the General Assembly and particularly participate in the climate change summit, an area he said India can make important contributions.
Dujarric had said that India has a big role to play on the issue of climate change and it has very important contributions to make.
Heads of State and Government will join leaders from business and civil society to announce new commitments and practical actions to address climate change at the summit hosted by the Secretary-General.
The one-day summit will mark the first time in five years that world leaders will get together to chart a bold, new course of action on climate change.
The Secretary-General has asked leaders to announce significant and substantial initiatives to help move the world toward a path that will limit global warming.
The UN Chief said in a statement that the summit would accelerate political momentum and catalyze ambitious action on the ground.
“I have invited leaders from governments, cities, business, finance and civil society to showcase what they are doing to promote the transformative change we know we need.
The world needs to see what countries are already doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.
In addition to governments, leaders from the private sector, including from business and finance, would also announce significant new commitments.
“Solutions exist and we are already seeing significant changes in government policies and investments in sustainable ways of living and doing business,” Ban said.
“The race is on, and now is the time to for leaders to step up and steer the world towards a safer future.”
According to the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, headed by Indian Nobel laureate Rajendra Pachauri, the world is presently on a path that would well exceed the two degree Celsius?(3.6?F) rise in temperature limit that countries have set to ensure that the world would not suffer the worst impacts of climate change.
The report also presented many scenarios and pathways to a more secure future.
Through action in critical areas, such as energy, agriculture, cities, forests, and by building resilience with proper financing, countries and communities can still build healthy economies while reducing carbon emissions.
The summit would consist of an opening ceremony, announcements by Heads of State and Governments and private sector, the launch of new initiatives that address key action areas by coalitions of governments, businesses and civil society organizations.–PTI
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