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The United Nations has urged the world to kick an all-consuming
addiction to carbon dioxide and said everyone must take steps to
fight climate change.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said global warming was becoming
the defining issue of the era and will hurt rich and poor
alike.
"Our world is in the grip of a dangerous carbon habit," Ban said in
a statement to mark World Environment Day, which is being marked by
events around the globe and hosted by the New Zealand city of
Wellington.
"Addiction is a terrible thing. It consumes and controls us, makes
us deny important truths and blinds us to the consequences of our
actions," he said in the speech to reinforce this year's World
Environment Day theme of "CO2 Kick the Habit".
"Whether you are an individual, an organization, a business or a
government, there are many steps you can take to reduce your carbon
footprint. It is a message we all must take to heart," he
said.
World Environment Day, conceived in 1972, is the United Nations'
principal day to mark global green issues and aims to give a human
face to environmental problems and solutions.
This year it was hosted in Wellington.
Like many countries around the world New Zealand staged art and street festivals to spread the message on how people can reduce carbon usage.
New Zealand Post asked staff to bring a magazine or book to work and swap it to reduce their carbon footprint - and the Automobile Association will host a global summit on improving the environmental impact of cars.
Air New Zealand marked the day by announcing that it will be the first airline in the world to test fly a new biofuel made from the jatropha plant.
Unlike corn, which has increased the pressure on farmland and
played a role in rising food prices, jatropha is not part of the
food chain and can be grown on non-arable land.
Across the Tasman, Adelaide Zoo staged a wild breakfast for
corporate leaders to focus on how carbon emissions threaten animal
habitats.
Global events
In Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, people plan to clean up Gulshan
Baridhara Lake that has become badly polluted, and in Kathmandu the
Bagmati River Festival will focus on cleaning up the river
there.
Many Asian cities, such as Bangalore and Mumbai, plan tree-planting
campaigns, while the Indian town of Pune will open a "Temple of
Environment" to help spread green awareness.
Global carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels are rising
quickly and scientists say the world faces rising seas, melting
glaciers and more intense storms, droughts and floods as the planet
warms.
A summit of G8 nations in Hokkaido, Japan, next month, is due to
formalise a goal agreed a year ago that global carbon emissions
should be reduced by 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
But some nations think the cuts should be deeper, leading to a
reduction of 80 percent of carbon emissions by 2050 to try to
stablise CO2 concentrations in the air to limit global
warming.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said the cost of greening of
the world's economy would cost as little as a few tenths of global
GDP annually over 30 years and would be a driving force for
innovation, new businesses and employment.
The UNEP urged greater energy efficiency in buildings and
appliances and a switch towards cleaner and renewable forms of
electricity generation and transport systems.
It said more than 20% of new investment in renewable energy was in
developing countries, with China, India and Brazil taking the
lion's share. Renewables now provide over 5% of global power
generation and 18 percent of new investment in power.
But the UN body said an estimated 20% of carbon emissions came from
deforestation and urged developing nations to save their forests as
carbon sinks.
For tips on kicking the CO2 habit CLICK HERE
For more information on creating a more sustainable life check out the government's Next Step Plan .
