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Climate Change:
GA Panel Discussion, 13 October 2009

Special Event - Second Committee, 64th Session of the General Assembly
Panel Discussion:
Climate Change Negotiations: Road to Copenhagen

13 October 2009
New York, NY

  • The world needs a climate change deal in Copenhagen that is science-based, comprehensive, balanced and equitable and fair for the future of human beings.
  • There are less than sixty days from this Special Event until the Conference of Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meets in Copenhagen, Denmark.
  • Success in Copenhagen can strengthen climate-resilient development and assist the world’s poorest and most vulnerable to adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change.
  • Failure risks increasing poverty, as the poor are already the most vulnerable to climate change, and reversing development achievements, including progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.
  • More in the background note...

The Question Now is How:

How to reconcile differences and ensure an ambitious outcome in Copenhagen, and how to ensure that the international community and nation-states act sufficiently quickly and decisively to avert the worst impacts of climate change.

This “how” will be the focus of discussion at the Special Event. The panelists will provide different points of view in order to stimulate a debate on the best way forward to address the climate change challenge; they will stimulate debate on how to reconcile differences among countries and ensure an ambitious outcome in Copenhagen. They will also elaborate on the key elements for agreement at Copenhagen, including mitigation, adaptation, technology and finance.