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Monday 30 Nov 2015 - 11:08 Makkah mean time-18-2-1437
UN chief Ban ki-moon (UN photo)
Paris (IINA) – On the eve of the opening in Paris of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, widely known as COP21, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged all countries and all segments of society to act now to reach a new universal climate agreement.
“I'm reasonably optimistic and convinced that world leaders will adopt a very ambitious universal climate change agreement at this COP21,” Ban told the UN News Centre in an interview on Sunday at the Parisian headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
“We've been working very hard, very long – the time for action is now. I have seen growing political momentum among member states. They know that they have to take action,” he said.
Ahead of COP21, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – the UN entity organizing the conference – has already received some 180 voluntary climate action plans from countries. Formally called Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), these will form the basis of the agreement expected to be reached.
As more and more INDCs were submitted, the UN chief has said this shows nations are prepared to take meaningful action to address climate change.
Asked how a new climate deal and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which is composed of 17 goals (SDGs) are linked, Ban said a strong climate agreement backed by action on the ground will help the world achieve the global goals “to make the world better and safer.”
“Goal number 13 [focuses on] climate change but if we do not implement the climate change agreement, then all the remaining 16 goals will be affected. Not a single goal can be implemented in isolation,” he explained.
The UN climate conference will officially open Monday. Negotiations towards a final agreement are expected to conclude on December 11.
AB/IINA
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