UN Climate Summit to give political momentum for negotiations

The summit on climate change convened by the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the UN headquarters in New York later this month is expected to give the much needed political momentum for negotiations on this crucial issue, a top UN official said.

A record number of world leaders, including the US President Barack Obama, are expected to attend the summit on September 22.

"The full engagement of world leaders is absolutely essential — there are now only 50 negotiating days left before Copenhagen begins," Janos Pasztor, Director of the Secretary-General's Climate Change Support Team said.

Noting that Ban is continuously urging leaders to step up action towards "a fair, comprehensive and effective global treaty that addresses one of the most fundamental challenges the world is facing," he said the international negotiations on the new regime had been much too slow.

The Secretary-General's recent visit to the Arctic was a reminder that failure to take action would have serious consequences, "not just for polar bears in the Arctic, but for people on every continent and in every country," he observed.

However, Pasztor said there are grounds for optimism in the meetings that Ban had held with heads of state and government over the past months.

He pointed out that commitments by national leaders to participate in the New York Summit had already surpassed the mark established by a similar gathering in 2007, which had included 82 leaders.

"My crystal ball tells me it will be quite a bit higher," Pasztor predicted.

In any case, all 192 Member States would be represented, with ministers representing most of those not sending a Head of State or Government.

The opening session would hear from the leaders of countries now emitting the most greenhouse gases, those most vulnerable to climate change, fast-emerging developing countries and those working to avoid deforestation.

The Summit would focus on areas: adaptation; greenhouse gas reduction targets by developed and developing countries; funding to support mitigation and adaptation; and the Governance structures needed for an effective regime.  

In response to a question about a letter from the "Group of 77" developing countries voicing dissatisfaction with the inclusiveness of the opening session, Pasztor emphasised that there would be a "balance" in the countries to be heard at the opening, and there would be opportunities for all to make their views known throughout the proceedings.

No new financial commitments to support the efforts of developing countries are expected during the Summit, but it is hoped that there would be work on a new framework, he said.

Most important for the Copenhagen Agreement is not funding figures, but an effective formula bringing together different funding sources that could be scaled up according to needs, he said.