UN chief calls for deals on forests, technology, financing

Decisions on forests, technology and financing are close to being ready and should be sealed in Cancun, the host city of the UN climate change conference, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said Tuesday.

"The protection of forests, which represent 17 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions; technology transfers and some elements of financing are important decisions which are mature enough for their adoption," he told a press briefing in Cancun.

Negotiators must reach an agreement on the 30 billion dollar fast track fund, which was promised when the parties met in Danish capital Copenhagen last year, Ban said. The fund was supposed to fund greenhouse gas reduction activities in developing nations using rich nations' contributions, before switching to private funding, set to be worth 100 billion dollars by 2020.

Ban said he had created a high-level group to follow the issue including Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and his Norwegian counterpart Jens Stoltenberg.

"A great deal of hope was placed in Copenhagen, this year in Cancun we must be more practical and realistic," he said, adding wishes to all the delegations for progress in deforestation, adaptation, technology transfer and financing by closing date Dec. 10.

Some 25,000 officials from the signatory nations as well as a smaller number of non-government organizations, businesspeople and academics are in Cancun for the talks, seeking a solution to fight climate change.

Source: Xinhua