UN Chief Warns that the Future of the Planet is at Stake at COP 17

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is warning deadlocked climate talks in Durban about the importance of finding solutions. "It would be difficult to overstate the gravity of this moment," Ban said "Without exaggeration, we can say: the future of our planet is at stake - people's lives, the health of the global economy, the very survival of some nations."

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) talks have been thwarted by disagreements about the future of the Kyoto Protocol. Contradictory views on the fate of Kyoto, must not be allowed to kill the world's only legally-binding treaty for curbing greenhouses gases.

"I urge you to carefully consider a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol," Ban said.

There are also concerns that economic problems make signing a binding agreement that much more difficult. However, these costs will pay lucrative dividends and the costs of inaction are unthinkable.

The UN chief said everyone had to be "realistic" about the chances of a breakthrough in Durban. "It may be true, as many say: the ultimate goal of a comprehensive and binding climate-change agreement may be beyond our reach, for now," Ban said.

"Yet let me emphasise: None of these uncertainties should prevent us from making real progress here in Durban."

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.