On 24th September world leaders met in New York for a high-level UN summit on climate change, convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.
Participants agreed that a comprehensive global climate change deal must be negotiated within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and be in place by 2012. They reinforced that all other initiatives must feed into the UNFCCC.
Tearfund welcomes the Chairs summary which supports the start of formal negotiations at the UNFCCC conference in Indonesia this December, calling for a ‘breakthrough on climate change in Bali.’ This sends an important signal to negotiators as they plan for that meeting. It also makes it clear that other meetings outside of the UN (including a meeting hosted by George Bush on 27-28th September) must feed back into the formal process.
Adaptation was given a separate session during the meeting where many countries highlighted the impact of climate change on the most vulnerable people. Better adaptation planning and increased funding were called for. The Secretary General also specifically mentioned the need to strengthen disaster risk reduction capabilities.
The Chair’s Summary of the meeting can be found here.