UN chief urges swift, bold actions on climate change

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Sunday urged all countries to act swiftly and boldly to limit global warming as greenhouse gas emissions across the world continue to rise at an accelerated pace.

"The secretary-general urges all countries to act swiftly and boldly on climate change to bring ambitious announcements and actions to the Climate Summit in New York Sep 23, 2014 and to make every effort needed to reach a global, ambitious and legal climate agreement in 2015," a statement issued here by Ban's spokesman said.

The comments by the UN secretary-general came as he welcomed a report by a UN panel on climate change. The report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Berlin Sunday states that global greenhouse gas emissions are continuing to rise at an accelerated pace, Xinhua reported citing the statement.

"The IPCC concludes that urgent action is needed to limit the increase in global mean temperature to two degrees Celsius and that action now will be far less costly than postponing action for the future," the statement said.

According to the IPCC, there are many pathways still available to significantly reduce emissions.

"They require using a wide range of technologies and activities that will help the world transition to a low-carbon future and will enable economies to grow and flourish," it said.

The 33-page report was produced by 1,250 international experts and approved by governments of 194 countries.

The IPCC was established by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization in 1988 to deal with international environmental issues.