UN chief calls for compromise to find comprehensive climate deal

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Monday expressed his hope that governments at COP-17 in Durban will find a compromise on the Kyoto Protocol to make a broader comprehensive climate agreement possible in the future. "Durban must complete what was agreed last year in Cancun," he said at Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF)-2011 conference held in Dhaka. The two-day CVF began on Monday, aimed at reaching consensus on various climate issues and working together at COP-17 to be held in Durban, South Africa on November 28. Ban called for scaling up the climate financing through launching the Green Climate Fund agreed last year in Cancun. He said Governments must lead the way to catalyze the 100 billion U.S. dollars per annum from public and private sources that was pledged to 2020. Ban said "We are in the middle of a serious economic crisis. But even in these difficult times, we cannot afford delay. We cannot ask the poorest and most vulnerable to bear the costs." "The Fund needs to be launched in Durban. An empty shell is not sufficient," Ban told the conference attended by representatives from more than 30 countries from around the world, which are most vulnerable to the climate change. The UN chief said climate change is a global problem requiring a global solution and it requires urgent efforts on the part of every country both in the global negotiations, and through scaled-up national actions on the ground. He said since unresolved issues are both critical and complex, compromise and common sense will be crucial. "We must work together to build a safer, healthier, more climate-resilient world. Together, we can build the future we want," he said. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who inaugurated the conference, expressed her disappointment for not getting required fund and technology to tackle the adverse impact of the climate change. She said conditions labeled with the climate fund are not acceptable for the least developed economies, as a result, most vulnerable nations are being deprived of global assistance. Hasina called for new and additional fund from the developed nations to deal with the climate change.