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UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon

Cletus Mushanawani in Marrakech, Morocco —

Outgoing United Nations Secretary- General Mr Ban Ki-Moon has called for the translation of words into effective policies and actions to protect the planet.Speaking at the ongoing United Nations Conference on Climate Change here yesterday, Mr Ban said: “This is an enormous responsibility and an enormous opportunity to do what is right for our future. 2015 was the warmest year on record. This year is virtually certain to be even hotter.

“Today, more than 150 million people live on land that could be submerged or suffer chronic flooding within this century, possibly causing massive waves of migration and instability. The choices we make today and in the coming decades could lock in catastrophic climate impacts for thousands of years to come.”

Mr Ban called on all nations to work together to achieve more.

“Acting together, countries achieve more than they ever could alone. This is true for the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals and recent achievements on mitigation. The United Nations is the best forum to forge solutions.

“Heads of State and Government must lead. I have spoken with nearly every world leader about climate change. The more they understood, they more decisively they acted. We need whole societies to engage. Millions of people from all sectors contributed to the Paris Agree- ment.

“They are indispensable to realising its full potential. The Global Climate Action Agenda generated collaboration between governments, businesses, finance and civil society. They demonstrated the power of partnerships,” he said.

Speaking at the same occasion, president of the 71st Session of the General Assembly 22nd Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Mr Peter Thomson said addressing climate change was no longer only an investment in future generations, but a necessity to save lives.

“The impacts of climate change are being felt today by every country. The last few years have been the hottest in recorded history, with current trends in greenhouse gas emissions pointing to further warming.

“Catastrophic climate events are already affecting hundreds of millions of our fellow human beings. Prolonged droughts of increased severity, melting glaciers, and rising sea levels, are increasing food insecurity, exacerbating diseases, disrupting lives and livelihoods, and forcibly displacing people and entire

He said due to rising sea levels, the very existence of some countries is under threat.

“Urgent action on climate change must therefore be seen as a moral, environmental, scientific, and developmental imperative, guided by ambition, action and equity.

“Excellencies, the scientific community tells us that it is possible to bend the curve on current trajectories by curbing the growth of global greenhouse gas emissions. To do so we have to transform the global economy in a manner that drives inclusive economic growth while decoupling it from global emissions. Countries and corporations have already proven this can done,” he said.