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Kofi Annan: Global Warming Top Priority for UN

At a 189-nation meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, Kofi Annan, United Nation`s Secretary General, who is due to step down at the end of December, addressed the delegates with harsh words to emphasize the urgency of action regarding global warming. Mr. Annan made his scorn towards those who are skeptical of climate change clear. Quite brave as the main advocates of "no-global-warming" have a strong grip of the Whitehouse.

Mr. Annan warned that global warming is sure to have destabilizing effects on the world: "Changing patterns of rainfall, for example, can heighten competition for resources" and continued by explaining that many of those effects are already becoming apparent now. Mr. Annan called upon the participating nations to take the necessary measures now as "It is increasingly clear that it will cost far less to cut emissions now than to deal with the consequences later,"

During the past week and a half, the delegates have been negotiating a timetable to replace those of the existing Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012. Although the timetable issue has yet to be resolved a breakthrough has been made on the management of the Adaptation Fund. This fund is designed to protect the world`s poorest nations against the dangers of climate change. "The fund is how we [the richer developing countries] share the benefits of clean development with the poorest countries, the countries which produce least greenhouse gases and so have few options for mitigating their emissions," said Bernaditas Muller, head of the Philippines delegation, who spoke for the G-77 bloc during negotiations.