Environment day calls for end to CO2 addiction
WELLINGTON, (Reuters) - The United Nations urged the worldon Thursday to kick an all-consuming addiction to carbondioxide and said everyone must take steps to fight climatechange.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said global warming wasbecoming the defining issue of the era and will hurt rich andpoor alike.
"Our world is in the grip of a dangerous carbon habit," Bansaid in a statement to mark World Environment Day, which isbeing marked by events around the globe and hosted by the NewZealand city of Wellington.
"Addiction is a terrible thing. It consumes and controlsus, makes us deny important truths and blinds us to theconsequences of our actions," he said in the speech toreinforce this year's World Environment Day theme of "CO2 Kickthe Habit".
"Whether you are an individual, an organization, a businessor a government, there are many steps you can take to reduceyour carbon footprint. It is a message we all must take toheart," he said.
World Environment Day, conceived in 1972, is the UnitedNations' principal day to mark global green issues and aims togive a human face to environmental problems and solutions.
New Zealand, which boasts snow-capped mountains, pristinefjords and isolated beaches used as the backdrop for the "Lordof the Rings" film trilogy, has pledged to becomecarbon-neutral.
"We take pride in our clean, green identity as a nation andwe are determined to take action to protect it. We appreciatethat protecting the climate means behaviour change by each andevery one of us," said New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.
New Zealand, like many countries, staged art and streetfestivals to spread the message on how people can reduce carbonusage.
In Australia, Adelaide Zoo staged a wild breakfast forcorporate leaders to focus on how carbon emissions threatenanimal habitats.
GLOBAL EVENTS
In Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, people plan to clean upGulshan Baridhara Lake that has become badly polluted, and inKathmandu the Bagmati River Festival will focus on cleaning upthe river there.
Many Asian cities, such as Bangalore and Mumbai, plantree-planting campaigns, while the Indian town of Pune willopen a "Temple of Environment" to help spread green awareness.
Global carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels arerising quickly and scientists say the world faces rising seas,melting glaciers and more intense storms, droughts and floodsas the planet warms.
A summit of G8 nations in Hokkaido, Japan, next month, isdue to formalise a goal agreed a year ago that global carbonemissions should be reduced by 50 percent below 1990 levels by2050.
But some nations think the cuts should be deeper, leadingto a reduction of 80 percent of carbon emissions by 2050 to tryto stablise CO2 concentrations in the air to limit globalwarming.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said climate changewas already a reality.
"We have been experiencing the worst drought in livingmemory and our inland rivers are running dry," he said in astatement.
"We are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by60 per cent on 2000 levels by 2050. We will implement emissionstrading as the primary mechanism for achieving this target," hesaid.
North Korean state media said the government was doing itsbit for the environment, including updating existing thermalpower plants, increasing hydro-power generating capacity,creating more forests and using more organic fertilisers.
The country's carbon output is already fairly small becauseit cannot afford large quantities of oil and relies heavily onhydro plants for power.
The U.N. Environment Programme said the cost of greening ofthe world's economy would cost as little as a few tenths ofglobal GDP annually over 30 years and would be a driving forcefor innovation, new businesses and employment.
(Additional reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Seoul; Writingby Michael Perry; Editing by David Fogarty)