UN climate talks proceed in New York; Obama speaks of US efforts

Dozens of world leaders gathered at United Nations headquarters in New York today for what's being called "unprecedented" climate change talks. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told some 100 presidents, prime ministers and other leaders that climate negotiations are moving too slowly and the world's glaciers are melting faster than human progress to protect them.

“Green house gas emissions continue to rise, we will soon reach a critical threshold, consequences that we cannot reverse.  The world´s leading scientists warn that we have less than 10 years to avoid the worst case scenarios projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.”

Ban Ki-moon said he recently returned from the Arctic where he witnessed rapid changes. He warned the Arctic could be ice-free by 2030. President Obama - in his first speech to the UN - admitted time is running out. But he also said it is possible to reverse climate change.

“John F. Kennedy once observed that our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. It is true that for too many years mankind has been slow to respond to or even recognize the magnitude of the climate threat. It is true of my own country as well, we recognize that. But this is a new decade, it is a new era. I am proud to say that the United States has done more to promote clean energy and reduce carbon pollution in the last eight months than at any other time in our history.”

Obama cited US investments in renewable energy, offshore wind energy projects, fuel efficiency standards, carbon capture technology, greenhouse gas pollution tracking and the climate bill moving through Congress. He also said he'll try to convince leaders at the G20 to phase out fossil fuel subsidies.  The United States, along with China, are the lead producers of greenhouse gas emissions.

Among the dignitaries speaking today at the UN was Professor and Nobel Prize winner Wangari Muta Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement.

“No part of the world is immune. We are all in this together irrespective of our level of contribution to the problem. Business as usual for any one country would be a tragedy. In the massive global wake-up call by citizens, they are calling you and I´m not sure that all the calls are being answered. But I do believe that citizens should be listened to.”

Maathai pointed out that world leaders have the power to slow the pace of climate change by coming to agreements at the upcoming UN Climate Conference. There are 15 negotiating days left before December's meetings in Copenhagen, which some are calling the most significant meetings in world history.