UN: World Environment Day to be observed with Theme of “Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy” [viewed]
May 2008: In the lead up to World Environment Day, which will be observed on 5 June 2008, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon likened fossil fuel dependence to a dangerous addiction, saying “addiction is a terrible thing. It consumes and controls us, makes us deny important truths and blinds us to the consequences of our actions. Our world is in the grip of a dangerous carbon habit.” This year, World Environment Day will be hosted in Wellington, New Zealand, under the theme “Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy.”
13 May 2008: UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the sixteenth session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. 
20 May 2008: In her address to the ECOSOC special session on the global food crisis, UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro (right) urged policymakers to carefully examine the cause of crisis, including the increasing use of grain-based biofuels. 
14 May 2008: In his opening address at the High-level Segment of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged governments and other actors to prepare agriculture systems to respond to the negative effects of climate change. 
12 May 2008: The inaugural meeting of the UN High-level Task Force on the Global Food Crisis, convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, focused on elaborating a comprehensive framework for tackling the challenges posed by the food price crisis. In his opening remarks at the 12 May 2008 meeting, Secretary-General Ban recognized that soaring food prices are “essentially linked to the global demand for food exceeding supply, the drivers of the crisis are complex and the consequences are varied. Tackling this issue will require international leadership and coordination at the highest level.” 
In his 1 April 2008 address to the UN General Assembly's thematic debate on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that “development progress is gravely threatened by the effects of climate change and other major environmental challenges.” He highlighted that changes in our natural environment “can have adverse impacts on economic and social development,” and emphasized developing countries' need for “additional assistance and resources to support their adaptation efforts,” given their limited technological and financial resources. 
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged US President George W. 
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. 
