24 October 2008: During a UN System Chief Executives Board
Meeting, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the need to support the poor
amid the global financial crisis, warning that gains made towards achieving the
Millennium Development Goals could be reversed. The meeting brought together
Executive Heads of the UN specialized agencies, funds and programmes and the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund to undertake a wide-ranging
assessment of the ongoing global crisis in financial markets and the threat of
recession in the global economy.
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24 October 2008: Mayors and senior officials from 36 of the
world's largest cities gathered from 22-24 October 2008, in Tokyo, Japan, for
talks on how to fight global warming in the latest meeting of the so-called C40
climate initiative.
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23 October 2008: On accepting the UN Association-New York Humanitarians of the Year Award, in New York, US, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon thanked the Association for paying tribute to all the scientists, advocates and others “who have done so much at the UN to advance the climate change agenda over the years.” He underlined that turning away from the climate challenge while addressing the financial crisis would be “a double blow,” stressing the “enormous benefits” that can be drawn from making the transition to a low-carbon economy and addressing “one of the defining issues of our times.”
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23 October 2008: The UN Human Settlements Programme
(UN-HABITAT) has launched “State of the World's Cities 2008/2009: Harmonious
Cities,” a flagship report published every two years by the UN agency.
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23 October 2008: At a press conference at UN Headquarters in
New York, US, representatives of the Association of Caribbean States said
countries of the Caribbean region were headed for “hard and difficult times”
unless they took action on climate change, with the cooperation and support of
the international community.
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23 October 2008: UN Day is observed annually worldwide on 24
October to commemorate the founding of the Organization in October 1945. To
celebrate UN Day 2008, the UN agencies in Japan will present a topical seminar
entitled “Climate Change: What We Can Do,” which aims to help the public better
understand the range of activities through which the UN is addressing the
challenge of climate change.
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21 October 2008: The International Energy Agency (IEA), the European Commission and the European Energy Network hosted an international workshop in Paris, France, on 21 October 2008, on “Innovations in National Energy Efficiency Strategies and Action Plans.” The workshop aimed to encourage the development of high-quality energy efficiency strategies and plans that lead to significant improvements in energy efficiency.
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21 October 2008: Speaking at the ninth Regional Consultation
Mechanism (RCM) meeting of UN agencies and organizations working in Africa,
which took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, UN Deputy Secretary-General
Asha-Rose Migiro warned that the global financial crisis, compounded by food
shortages and the effects of climate change, could “derail Africa's prospects”
of attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
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22 October 2008: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has
addressed the climate and financial crises in a number of meetings and
statements in the past two days. He has sent letters to the heads of the EU
states, encouraging the EU to conclude its energy and climate package by the
end of 2008, in order to provide a positive signal to the international
community in its negotiations on emission reduction commitments for the
post-2012 period.
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22 October 2008: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has launched a Green Economy Initiative, which seeks to respond to the global economic downturn by focusing economic growth and job creation in environmental industries.
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