SAN-Feature Service SOUTH ASIAN NEWS-FEATURE SERVICE ENVIRONMENT: Crisis is opportunity By Ban Ki-moon, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Donald Tusk and Anders Fogh Rasmussen The urgency of the global financial crisis is no excuse for neglecting climate change. SAN-Feature Service : As world leaders gather in Put aside the familiar arguments: that the science on climate change is clear, that every day we do not act the problem grows worse, that fighting global warming is a moral imperative. Instead, let us make the case purely in terms of pragmatic economics. Global growth is slowing. Budgets are tightening. We will likely have fewer resources to tackle a lengthening agenda of global problems. What steps can we take, then, to create jobs and spur growth? How can we assure energy supplies at affordable prices? What must we do to insulate the global financial system from recurring shocks and cyclical bubbles, so that people of all nations can enjoy the promise of development and live in economic security? The answer is to find common solutions to the grave challenges facing us. And when it comes to two of the most serious — the financial crisis and climate change — that answer is the green economy. If our way of life is threatened, our response must be to adapt. Scientists agree: to address climate change, we need an energy revolution, a wholesale change in how we power our societies. Economists agree as well: the hottest growth industry in the world just now is renewable energy. That's where jobs of the future are already being created, and where much of the technological innovation is taking place that will usher in our next era of economic transformation. Practical philosophers remind us that tomorrow begins today. Yes, this weekend's financial summit in At Wishes do not automatically translate into deeds. But let us be clear: that is what the world's people want — businesses, investors, governments and citizens' groups. In fact, it is already happening. The U.N. Environment Programme estimates that global investment in zero-greenhouse energy will reach $1.9 trillion by 2020 — a significant portion of global GDP. Worldwide, nearly two million people are employed in the new wind and solar power industries, half of them in We do not need to await the arrival of new technologies, nor need we worry excessively about the costs of taking action. Studies show that the With the right policies and financial incentives — within a global framework — we can steer economic growth in a low-carbon direction. With the right policies and the right incentives, we can be sure that developed and developing countries alike contribute to the cause of fighting global warming, each in their own way and without compromising every nation's right to development and the economic well-being of its citizens. The most forward-looking CEOs know this. That's one reason why businesspeople in so many parts of the world are demanding clear and consistent policies on climate change — global policies for a global problem. In this regard, let us accept that there are many paths to Alas, we cannot pick and choose. We need all of these approaches. Even more, we will need leadership — enlightened and global perspective, matched by action. Today's global financial crisis is a wake-up call.. It demands fresh thinking. It requires innovative solutions that take into account the larger challenges we face as a global people. It is not an invitation to defer what needs to be done to safeguard our future. We have no more time to lose. — SAN-Feature Service Courtesy: U.N. Information Centre, Ban Ki-moon is U.N. Secretary-General, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is President of |
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Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm
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Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf
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MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.
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Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm
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Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm
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Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/
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MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm
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German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm
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Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm
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VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/
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-Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190
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