The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid a visit to the Headquarters of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva on 6 July 2007. Discussions with the IPU Secretary General, Anders B. Johnsson, centered on the question of climate change.
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"Every single person on earth will be affected by climate change. The legislative role of parliaments is especially important, since in their hands lies considerable power to forge the laws, guidelines, frameworks and incentives that will allow business, industry and other actors to play their part in achieving deep and necessary emissions cuts. Parliaments will also have a key role in helping societies to adapt to climate change. As representatives of those people, they help define their country’s national and global engagement on this challenge", said Mr. Ban.
Like other stakeholders, parliaments have voiced increasing concern over the state of the global environment. At the recent IPU Assembly, the principal theme debated by delegations from over one hundred parliaments was Global warming: Ten years after Kyoto. The IPU went on to adopt a political declaration on climate change, calling on parliaments to do all they can to reinforce climate change policy and legislation with a view to achieving the ultimate objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. The legislators pledged to raise the issue in their respective parliaments, and address questions to ministers about their preparation for the 13th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC and the Third Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.
"Since then, the IPU has contacted every Speaker of parliament in the world to mobilize support for the political declaration" said IPU Secretary General Johnsson. "We are asking parliaments to build momentum and political support, across political party lines, for UN-led initiatives aimed at implementing an effective international response to climate change".
The IPU will encourage closer cooperation and networking between parliaments, their specialized committees that deal with issues related to or with an impact on the environment, and grass-roots organizations at the constituency level. Information received on these efforts will provide the substance for a first report on parliamentary action that will be tabled at the next IPU Assembly in October.
Welcoming this initiative by the IPU, Mr. Ban urged all parliaments to play a pro-active role in developing relevant national policies, as well as in assisting to forge and implement an effective international response to climate change.
Mr. Johnsson also explained that "In response to the call to international organizations by the United Nations Secretary-General to eliminate wasteful practices, the IPU has already taken the lead by mapping its own carbon footprint and is preparing to devise energy-saving solutions and targets for reduction. But it is not good enough to just talk about climate change. International organizations have to bite the bullet and start taking some direct action".
The IPU Headquarters, The House of Parliaments, has been renovated to meet modern environmental standards. The IPU is responsible for 19,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year. "Knowing your own emissions is the first step towards becoming environmentally accountable. Awareness and institutional commitment are stepping stones to effective action", said Mr. Johnsson.
The data on greenhouse gas emissions will be presented to the Governing Council of the IPU in October, when they will be invited to take action to reduce GHG emissions and to set a time limited target for reduction.
