UNGA Climate Change Event Focuses on Post-Bali Talks and Partnerships [viewed]
The need for a global agreement on climate change for the post-2012 period, the importance of collaborative partnerships, and the role of the United Nations system were the focus of discussions during a three-day “thematic debate” in the UN General Assembly (UNGA). The event, which met at UN headquarters in New York, US, from 11-13 February 2008, took as its theme: “Addressing climate change: the United Nations and the world at work.”
In his opening remarks to the Economic Club of Chicago dinner, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said climate change is the defining challenge of our era. 
Speaking in advance of the UN General Assembly's thematic debate on climate change, General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim called for a “common vision, a global consensus, a global alliance for action.” 
Responding to the recent storms in China, Sálvano Briceño, Director of the Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR), said “the unprecedented scale, cost, and human impacts of China's freak month of snowstorms, its worst in 50 years, herald a need for the world to get ready for new kinds of disasters.” 
CIFOR is planning to co-host Forest Day 2 in collaboration with partner organizations in the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), coinciding with UNFCCC COP-14. 
The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) will convene an International Expert Meeting from 30 April-2 May in Yokohama, Japan, to promote the role of tropical forests and their sustainable management in climate change mitigation and adaptation. 
A meeting between the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia and President of the European Council, Janez Janša, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon identified climate change as a common priority between the two Organizations.
UNEP has announced the winners of the 2008 Champions of the Earth award for spearheading initiatives in many different areas, from environmental policy to cutting-edge research, with a particular focus on sustainable development and the fight against climate change. 
Speaking prior to a meeting with key government officials in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, IFAD Assistant President Matthew Wyatt said the “urgent new challenges such as climate change, a precarious global food supply and rising commodity prices,” make our long and successful partnership more crucial than ever. 
In a speech to Members of the European Parliament, Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), stressed the urgency of addressing the impacts of climate change on water resources. 
