United Nations Radio

Climate change remains the defining challenge of our era.~According to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the danger is that, as with the Millennium Development Goals, the magnitude of the threat will be obscured by shorter-term problems, and in particular the deepening financial crisis.

But he warns that if so, this would be a tragedy, pointing out that "we have no time to lose".

"In December, negotiators gather in Poznan, Poland. At that point they will have less than a year to reach a successful climate change agreement in Copenhagen.

We need to come away from Poznan with a shared vision for international cooperation, a clear work-plan with specific goals, a serious commitment to a global Adaptation Fund, and above all a strong willingness to the part of developed and developing nations alike to lead on an issue that all agree is an existential threat to our planet."

Secretary-General Ban says faced with immediate economic troubles, it would be natural for governments and the people everywhere to lose sight of this fact.

But he stressed that our job is to not let that happen, adding "our job is to keep science at the forefront. To keep public attention focused on the issue. And above all, to keep making progress," as "no challenge is as great as this".

This is Donn Bobb reporting for United Nations Radio.

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