UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon took the industrialised countries to task here on Monday for their failure to take actions against climate change. “Fifteen years have passed since the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was finalised,” he told an international gathering of heads of state. “Yet, the industrialised country emissions are rising.” Noting that their per capita level of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions remains “unacceptable”, he urged industrialised nations to assume an “enhanced” leadership in tackling climate change and to support poor countries in expanding use of clean energy.

Ban, who sees climate change “as a serious threat to development”, convened the meeting of the heads of state on Monday amid hopes that it might help produce meaningful results at the next round of global talks on climate change in Bali, Indonesia, due in December. Not surprisingly, US President George W Bush decided not to attend the one-day conference, although his country is known to be the largest polluter of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet.

In criticising industrialised nations for their relative inaction, Ban did not specifically mention the US role, but in a veiled reference to Washington’s isolationist approach and its reluctance to join global efforts, he did express his sense of disapproval. “Given the nature and magnitude of the challenge, national action is insufficient,” Ban said. “No nation can address this challenge alone. No region can insulate itself from climate change.”

Many developing countries hold that fight against climate change requires a global framework that will could guarantee the highest level of international cooperation. Ban’s position seems much closer to this view. “This (climate change) is precisely the kind of challenge that the UN is best suited to address,” Ban told participants at Monday’s meeting. “The UN is the appropriate forum for negotiating global action.” Despite their close ties with the US, the industrialised nations of Europe have been trying hard to engage Washington in negotiations on a comprehensive global agreement that might emerge as a result of Bali conference.

The 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC currently requires members to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 2012 to an average of 5% below 1990 levels. Last month, a UN meeting in Vienna focused on talks to advance Kyoto agreement, but failed to produce any concrete results in the wake of industrialised nations’ reluctance to agree to strict 2020 guidelines.

Greenpeace and many other environmental groups want governments in the industrialised world to agree to a Bali mandate by introducing drastic cuts in emissions, helping poor countries to be part of the Kyoto system, and pay for the impacts of climate change in the developing world.

Both the scientist leading UN researchers on climate change and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) chief warned the world community of disastrous consequences if it failed to take immediate actions. “The people in Bali have to be very, very clear about their options. It’s time for action,” Rajendra Pauchuri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said. “Breakthrough at Bali is essential. It must provide political answers to what IPCC is asking for,” added Yvo de Boer, the chief of UNEP. — IPS