Int'l community pledges more practical actions to tackle climate change

UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- High-ranking government officials or representatives from countries attending a UN high-level meeting pledged on Friday that their governments will continue to take more practical actions to cope with the fast-paced news.cn/en/tag/i0xafjcf73fd25efc71542/index.html" target="_blank">climate news.cn/en/tag/i0xaaakf3b068b2c8a084a/index.html" target="_blank">change.

news.cn/en/tag/i0xngaj3163f76200c981b/index.html" target="_blank">new Zealand "has identified news.cn/en/tag/i0xafjcf73fd25efc71542/index.html" target="_blank">climate news.cn/en/tag/i0xaaakf3b068b2c8a084a/index.html" target="_blank">change as one of the defining issues of this generation," Stephanie Lee, news.cn/en/tag/i0xafjcf73fd25efc71542/index.html" target="_blank">climate news.cn/en/tag/i0xaaakf3b068b2c8a084a/index.html" target="_blank">change ambassador at foreign affairs ministry of news.cn/en/tag/i0xngaj3163f76200c981b/index.html" target="_blank">new Zealand, said at the United Nations High-level Meeting on news.cn/en/tag/i0xafjcf73fd25efc71542/index.html" target="_blank">climate and Sustainable Development for All.

To combat news.cn/en/tag/i0xafjcf73fd25efc71542/index.html" target="_blank">climate news.cn/en/tag/i0xaaakf3b068b2c8a084a/index.html" target="_blank">change, news.cn/en/tag/i0xngaj3163f76200c981b/index.html" target="_blank">new Zealand has already banned news.cn/en/tag/i0xngaj3163f76200c981b/index.html" target="_blank">new offshore oil and gas exploration. It has pledged transition to "100 percent renews.cn/en/tag/i0xngaj3163f76200c981b/index.html" target="_blank">newable energy by 2035," she added.

"We will plant 1 billion trees over the next decade," she said, adding the island country in the South Pacific Ocean is cooperating with others to create conditions that enable all countries to prosper.

Noting that at the current emission pace the world will surpass the Paris Agreement goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius around the year 2040, Eva Svedling, state secretary to minister for environment and news.cn/en/tag/i0xafjcf73fd25efc71542/index.html" target="_blank">climate of Sweden, said that "we must act based on what science tells us and make more efficient use of energy, increase the use of renews.cn/en/tag/i0xngaj3163f76200c981b/index.html" target="_blank">newable sources and phase out the use of fossil fuels."

As for African countries, news.cn/en/tag/i0xafjcf73fd25efc71542/index.html" target="_blank">climate news.cn/en/tag/i0xaaakf3b068b2c8a084a/index.html" target="_blank">change is also a matter of great concern.

Patricia Appiagyei, deputy minister for environment, science, technology and innovation of Ghana, said that her country "is highly vulnerable to the impact of news.cn/en/tag/i0xafjcf73fd25efc71542/index.html" target="_blank">climate news.cn/en/tag/i0xaaakf3b068b2c8a084a/index.html" target="_blank">change. The challenge of news.cn/en/tag/i0xafjcf73fd25efc71542/index.html" target="_blank">climate news.cn/en/tag/i0xaaakf3b068b2c8a084a/index.html" target="_blank">change in Ghana is real. Rainfall patterns have news.cn/en/tag/i0xaaakf3b068b2c8a084a/index.html" target="_blank">changed and become less predictable. The warming of the sea is also affecting fishing."

To cope with the dire situation, 11 programs covering seven priority economic sectors are being proposed for implementation in the next 10 years, she said.

"We are already implementing news.cn/en/tag/i0xafjcf73fd25efc71542/index.html" target="_blank">climate news.cn/en/tag/i0xaaakf3b068b2c8a084a/index.html" target="_blank">change programs on the ground, aimed at promoting renews.cn/en/tag/i0xngaj3163f76200c981b/index.html" target="_blank">newable energy, supporting adoption of clean cooking, and sharing sustainable consumption and production, and pursuing a low carbon electricity supply," she said.

Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan's permanent representative to the UN, said that around 90 percent of all natural disasters that have hit Pakistan have been triggered by news.cn/en/tag/i0xafjcf73fd25efc71542/index.html" target="_blank">climate news.cn/en/tag/i0xaaakf3b068b2c8a084a/index.html" target="_blank">change, "putting enormous burden on our development capabilities and our ability to achieve sustainable development."

"In this backdrop, we have developed a comprehensive strategy to address news.cn/en/tag/i0xafjcf73fd25efc71542/index.html" target="_blank">climate news.cn/en/tag/i0xaaakf3b068b2c8a084a/index.html" target="_blank">change," she said.

Noting that finance remains a burden for the country, the ambassador said that "our adaptation needs are around 14 billion U.S. dollars per annum. We therefore urge our partners to fulfill their pledges of mobilizing 100 billion dollars a year by 2020."

Dang Dinh Quy, Vietnam's permanent representative to the UN, while recognizing the real threat of news.cn/en/tag/i0xafjcf73fd25efc71542/index.html" target="_blank">climate news.cn/en/tag/i0xaaakf3b068b2c8a084a/index.html" target="_blank">change like all other speakers, urged efforts be made to reinforce its national capacity "by enhancing effective cooperation with all relevant stakeholders."

"International cooperation in terms of capacity building, transfer of technologies for news.cn/en/tag/i0xafjcf73fd25efc71542/index.html" target="_blank">climate adaptation, etc. will play a critical role in this endeavor," he said.

The objectives of the two-day high-level meeting, which kicked off Thursday at the UN headquarters in news.cn/en/tag/i0xngaj3163f76200c981b/index.html" target="_blank">new York, include highlighting the interlinkage between news.cn/en/tag/i0xafjcf73fd25efc71542/index.html" target="_blank">climate and economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development for present and future generations.