MOMENTUM FOR CLIMATE DEAL STRONG AND GROWING, BAN TELLS COMMONWEALTH LEADERS

MOMENTUM FOR CLIMATE DEAL STRONG AND GROWING, BAN TELLS COMMONWEALTH LEADERS
The momentum for a deal at next month's United Nations climate change
summit is strong and growing, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said
today, urging world leaders to make the extra push to achieve a firm
foundation for a legally binding treaty as early as possible in 2010.

"My message to you today is simple: stay focused, stay committed, come
to Copenhagen, and seal a deal," Mr. Ban said in a
<http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=4256>keynote address to
Commonwealth heads of government, at their meeting in Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago.

"A deal that is ambitious, a deal that is equitable, a deal that
satisfies the demands of science," he added.

With only nine days to go, he and Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen
of Denmark, which is hosting the 7 to 18 December conference, are
working to get every country on board towards a new agreement to
reduce greenhouse gas em
issions. Some 80 world leaders have pledged to attend the summit, and
more are signing up daily.

"The momentum is strong -- and it continues to grow," Mr. Ban told the
gathering, which is the last international meeting before Copenhagen.

Despite several rounds of pre-summit negotiations, core issues --
including mitigation targets from industrialized countries and
financing to assist developing countries -- remain unresolved and have
dimmed the hopes of achieving a legally binding successor pact to the
1997 Kyoto Protocol, the emissions reduction treaty whose first
commitment period expires in 2012.

Mr. Ban noted that every country, large or small, has an important
role, and each week brings new commitments and pledges -- from
industrialized countries, emerging economies, and developing
countries.

Among others, he cited the voluntary plans to significantly reduce
emissions announced recently by Brazil, Indonesia and the Republic of
Korea, as well as the "ambitious" pledges mad
e by Japan, Norway and the European Union.

He called for strong commitments in five areas: ambitious mid-term
mitigation targets from industrialized countries, ambitious mitigation
actions by developing countries that limit the growth of their
emissions to below 'business as usual,' ambitious adaptation framework
for all countries, financing and technology to support developing
countries with all of the above, and a transparent and equitable
governance structure to manage and deploy these resources that gives
all countries a voice.

Stressing that financing is key, he said that in the short term, the
developed world will need to provide at least $10 billion dollars in
fast-track funding annually over the next three years. This will go
towards jump-starting low-emission growth in developing countries,
limiting deforestation and financing immediate adaptation measures.

More substantial funding, scaled up to the needs, will be needed over
the medium term, he added.

"An agreement in
Copenhagen that clearly addresses these elements will be a success."