UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon: We Must Seal the Deal on Climate Change

Day One of the Global Environment Forum, where UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon addressed the conference on the need for a climate change deal in Copenhagen, while remnants from Typhoon Morakot ravaged the streets of Incheon outside with torrential rain.

"We must seal the deal in Copenhagen for the fate of humanity," he told the 1,000 Korean and global sustainability leaders. "We must push, pull and conjure national leaders in acting in our common interest.

I addressed the conference on the topic of Climate Change and Urban Sustainability, after I met Ban following his speech. 

Ban compared the conference to the 1950 Incheon landing of General Douglass MacArthur with UN troops to save South Korea from invading forces from the north ("a daring operation--against all odds"), only this time the common global foe is lack of committed leadership.  

He announced two summit events in the US he will lead: one in New York on September 22, the other in Pittsburgh on September 24, to rally Copenhagen support with international leaders.

Secretary General Ban said developing nations in Copenhagen must be prepared to support developing nations (India and China) with technical support and significant public-private funding: "billions of dollars in financial support--not repackaged development money." 

Put more bluntly by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Director Mr. Lorents Lorentsen, "Copenhagen won't go through unless there's cash on the table for China and India."