..Press Release................................ UNESCAP News Services

Date 15 November 2007
Press Release No: N/63/2007

UN Climate Change Envoy to Speak in Bangkok

Han Seung-soo gives briefing at ESCAP on 19 November

Bangkok (United Nations Information Services)—The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, Han Seung-soo, will give a briefing on recent developments in UN climate change activities on 19 November, in Bangkok.

Mr. Han, a former president of the UN General Assembly, is traveling to the region two weeks ahead of the Bali Climate Change Conference, which the UN hopes will set the stage for future climate change action on all fronts.

The briefing will be given at the Fourth session of the Committee on Managing Globalization, which will be held by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) at the United Nations Conference Centre, from 19 to 21 November. The meeting is expected to attract over 100 participants from across the Asia-Pacific region who will, among other things, examine a regional cooperation strategy for climate change.

Mr. Han’s briefing comes at a critical time, with the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) set be adopted just two days before, and the Bali Conference two weeks away. The report, which took several years to compile and includes input from thousands of scientists from 130 countries, is expected to convey the IPCC’s strong warnings regarding the urgent need for action on climate change.

The Bali Conference, which will run from 3 to 14 December, is expected to launch negotiations on future climate change activities and on the creation of a plan for deeper cuts in CO2 emissions beyond 2012 when the Kyoto Protocol agreement expires.

The three-day Committee meeting in Bangkok will discuss, among other things, priority areas for ESCAP’s proposed work on the environment and sustainable development, and information, communication and space technology (ICST). The meeting will also include a discussion on managing globalization as a theme for international dialogue on ICST and the environment. It will address current issues and the future direction of ICST.

More information is available at:
http://www.unescap.org/cmg/2007/CMG4-II/index.asp

For further information on ESCAP’s work on Environment and Sustainable Development please contact:

Sangmin Nam
Environment and Sustainable Development Division, ESCAP
Tel: (662) 288 – 1691
E-mail: nams@un.org

Brian Thomson
United Nations Information Services, ESCAP
Tel: (662) 288 – 1869
E-mail: thomsonb@un.org or unisbkk.unescap@un.org