Cambodia Commits to Combating Climate Change to Save Green Planet
BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA
The Royal Government of Cambodia will take its super measures and actions to combat climate change, chemicals and e-waste management, and to promote green economies and sustainable development in Cambodia as well as in the region and in the word.
Muth Khieu, Secretary of State for Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment, said that global warming and climate change are the main concerns for all countries and governments in the world.
To save the earth as well as to promote a green planet and green economy in Cambodia as well as in the world, the Cambodian government will work hard and join hands with other contracting countries in reducing and combating climate change and global warming in the world, he said.
“Regarding the synergy for a better world approach, Cambodia takes the responsibility as a contracting party to examine the matters, and confirm to fully support the advanced works of the secretariat of the three conventions in the reform of the management procedures through restructuring and establishing the joint mechanism for the improvement of the implementation of the three conventions and the directive forward to the effective and economical use of financial resources,” he stated at the “11th Special Session of the Governance Council/ Global Ministerial Meetings” in Bali on February 24.
He stated that Cambodia would like to propose that the secretariat of the three conventions take more interests on the benefit sharing approach among the contracting parties, especially to strongly support the developing countries and lower developing countries such as Cambodia, in terms of capacity building, technical transfer, and financial resources and also to enforce the compliance within the three conventions in order to protect the environment and human health in the world.
“Cambodia would like to express its willingness and strong commitment and more actions at the national level and promptly prepare to stand for the joint cooperation, coordination, and implementation at global and regional levels of the synergy for a better world directions required actions as decided by this 11th Special Session of the Governance Council/ Global Ministerial Meetings,” he said, quoted by a reporter of The Southeast Asia Weekly who attended at the event.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of the Republic of Indonesia, said that during the past 12 years, the world was at its warmest since 1850. This catastrophe cannot be avoided. A one-meter rise in sea levels will bring about terrible devastation to scores of millions of people.
The Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono continued to say that the aspect of the loss of diversity is also grim: within this century some 50,000 plant species and almost 4,000 endemic vertebrate species will probably become extinct. Some sixty percent of the earth’s ecosystems-forests and soil, grasslands and coral reefs-are already badly damaged.
“As to the oceans, which cover two-thirds of the earth’s surface, these are the unsung treasuries of the world economy. They are the great providers of food security. Without them half of the human race would starve and some 120 million people who live in coastal areas in this part of the world be deprived of their livelihood,” he said.
He added that because of over-exploitation and depletion of fishing grounds, the aggregate losses in fish stocks totaled some US$50 billion in 2008. Such an enormous economic loss is a grievous obstacle to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals of the developing island and coastal countries.
“We need to strengthen multilateralism to enhance coordination, synergy and coherence, especially among agencies in the UN system, in addressing environmental challenges. Improving international environmental governance is a must. This should be done to make our efforts at addressing environmental challenges more effective and efficient. Hence, there is an urgent need to improve the capacity of UNEP, the main instrument of the international community in addressing environmental challenges,” he said.
Achim Steiner, United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), said that in 2007, the UN climate change meeting of the contracting countries showed a dramatic impulse towards a truly cooperative response to one of the great challenges facing this generation.
Achim Steiner continued to say that the international community has yet to fully translate that Bali spirit into a final and transformative outcome.
“We have traveled some distance down that Bali Road Map and made progress on a global, cooperative response in Copenhagen,” he said. “We now move towards Cancun and Mexico later in the year in research of that full and final berth,” he added.
He stated that today’s synergies’ outcome is an historic building block in a bigger picture of gearing the International Environmental Governance system to towards a 21st century one.
“One able to meet the original aspirations which gave birth to these environmental instruments in the first place-namely realizes a healthier, more equitable world where challenges are met and decisively overcome. One where the basic needs of the vulnerable and the poor are paramount and equal to those of the few and rich,” he said.
He added that this significant step of the parties to the chemicals and waste conventions sends a clear and unequivocal signal to this 11th Special Session of the UNEP Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum.
Over 140 countries and delegations from the world attended the 11th Special Session of the UNEP Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum on February 24-26, in Bali, Indonesia aiming to find measures and solutions to save the earth and promote the green planet and green economies in the world. ///
The Royal Government of Cambodia will take its super measures and actions to combat climate change, chemicals and e-waste management, and to promote green economies and sustainable development in Cambodia as well as in the region and in the word.
Muth Khieu, Secretary of State for Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment, said that global warming and climate change are the main concerns for all countries and governments in the world.
To save the earth as well as to promote a green planet and green economy in Cambodia as well as in the world, the Cambodian government will work hard and join hands with other contracting countries in reducing and combating climate change and global warming in the world, he said.
“Regarding the synergy for a better world approach, Cambodia takes the responsibility as a contracting party to examine the matters, and confirm to fully support the advanced works of the secretariat of the three conventions in the reform of the management procedures through restructuring and establishing the joint mechanism for the improvement of the implementation of the three conventions and the directive forward to the effective and economical use of financial resources,” he stated at the “11th Special Session of the Governance Council/ Global Ministerial Meetings” in Bali on February 24.
He stated that Cambodia would like to propose that the secretariat of the three conventions take more interests on the benefit sharing approach among the contracting parties, especially to strongly support the developing countries and lower developing countries such as Cambodia, in terms of capacity building, technical transfer, and financial resources and also to enforce the compliance within the three conventions in order to protect the environment and human health in the world.
“Cambodia would like to express its willingness and strong commitment and more actions at the national level and promptly prepare to stand for the joint cooperation, coordination, and implementation at global and regional levels of the synergy for a better world directions required actions as decided by this 11th Special Session of the Governance Council/ Global Ministerial Meetings,” he said, quoted by a reporter of The Southeast Asia Weekly who attended at the event.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of the Republic of Indonesia, said that during the past 12 years, the world was at its warmest since 1850. This catastrophe cannot be avoided. A one-meter rise in sea levels will bring about terrible devastation to scores of millions of people.
The Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono continued to say that the aspect of the loss of diversity is also grim: within this century some 50,000 plant species and almost 4,000 endemic vertebrate species will probably become extinct. Some sixty percent of the earth’s ecosystems-forests and soil, grasslands and coral reefs-are already badly damaged.
“As to the oceans, which cover two-thirds of the earth’s surface, these are the unsung treasuries of the world economy. They are the great providers of food security. Without them half of the human race would starve and some 120 million people who live in coastal areas in this part of the world be deprived of their livelihood,” he said.
He added that because of over-exploitation and depletion of fishing grounds, the aggregate losses in fish stocks totaled some US$50 billion in 2008. Such an enormous economic loss is a grievous obstacle to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals of the developing island and coastal countries.
“We need to strengthen multilateralism to enhance coordination, synergy and coherence, especially among agencies in the UN system, in addressing environmental challenges. Improving international environmental governance is a must. This should be done to make our efforts at addressing environmental challenges more effective and efficient. Hence, there is an urgent need to improve the capacity of UNEP, the main instrument of the international community in addressing environmental challenges,” he said.
Achim Steiner, United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), said that in 2007, the UN climate change meeting of the contracting countries showed a dramatic impulse towards a truly cooperative response to one of the great challenges facing this generation.
Achim Steiner continued to say that the international community has yet to fully translate that Bali spirit into a final and transformative outcome.
“We have traveled some distance down that Bali Road Map and made progress on a global, cooperative response in Copenhagen,” he said. “We now move towards Cancun and Mexico later in the year in research of that full and final berth,” he added.
He stated that today’s synergies’ outcome is an historic building block in a bigger picture of gearing the International Environmental Governance system to towards a 21st century one.
“One able to meet the original aspirations which gave birth to these environmental instruments in the first place-namely realizes a healthier, more equitable world where challenges are met and decisively overcome. One where the basic needs of the vulnerable and the poor are paramount and equal to those of the few and rich,” he said.
He added that this significant step of the parties to the chemicals and waste conventions sends a clear and unequivocal signal to this 11th Special Session of the UNEP Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum.
Over 140 countries and delegations from the world attended the 11th Special Session of the UNEP Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum on February 24-26, in Bali, Indonesia aiming to find measures and solutions to save the earth and promote the green planet and green economies in the world. ///
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