UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged nations to implement the Paris climate change accord agreed late last year.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Ban warned economic development around the world would be undermined if the agreed targets to limit climate change are not met. “Climate change undermines development gains. If we do not properly police this Paris agreement, then the remaining 16 sustainable development goals will be undermined.”
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius urged nations to implement the Paris climate change agreement. The alternative, he claimed, would be massive migratory flows that would make today’s immigration crisis look minor by comparison: “We have problems today in Europe because of some hundreds of thousands of people emigrating. But if it is a question of thousands of millions of people, what will happen?”
“And, at the end of the day, it is a question of war and peace and I think this agreement is a major pillar for security.”
The UN chief of disaster management has warned that governments are underestimating the costs of disasters caused by climate extremes. Robert Glasser predicted that the economic costs would rise in line with the increasing impacts of extreme weather and rising seas.
A survey suggests climate issues are not the main concern of business leaders in Davos this year. Regulation and economic issues seem to be more signficant.
