U.N. chief calls for urgent action on climate

[BlueJessamine]

Source: Reuters

LONGYEARBYEN, Svalbard (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on world leaders on Monday to take urgent action to combat climate change for the sake of "the future of humanity."

Ban, on a tour of Svalbard, the remote Norwegian-controlled Arctic archipelago, said the region might have no ice within 30 years if present climate trends persisted.

He is trying to drum up support for a comprehensive accord to limit emissions of greenhouse gases at a U.N. summit in Copenhagen in December. The accord will be a successor to the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012.

"I would like to draw the attention (of) the world, for urgent action to be taken at Copenhagen ... We do not have much time to lose," Ban told reporters aboard a Norwegian coastguard vessel.

Ban said he wants leaders "to agree a global deal that is comprehensive, equitable and balanced for the future of humanity and the future of planet Earth."


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE5801A120090901

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Ban said that Arctic ice was disappearing faster than glaciers in other parts of the world, quickly removing the reflective white shield that prevents the earth's north and south polar regions from absorbing more of the sun's energy.

If Arctic sea ice disappears, the darker water underneath will absorb more solar energy, accelerating climate change, scientists say.