The Observer: UN plans 'shock therapy' for world leaders on environment

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/20/united-nations-summit-climate-change

UN plans 'shock therapy' for world leaders on environment

Pared-down summit will force heads of rich states to listen to those of third world in hope of kickstarting radical action

Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent
The Observer, Sunday 20 September 2009

The United Nations is planning a form of diplomatic shock therapy for world leaders this week in the hope of injecting badly needed urgency into negotiations for a climate change treaty that, it is now widely acknowledged, are dangerously adrift.

UN chief Ban Ki-Moon and negotiators say that unless they can convert world leaders into committed advocates of radical action, it will be very hard to reach a credible and enforceable agreement to avoid the most devastating consequences of climate change.

As the digital counter ticking off the hours to the Copenhagen summit – which had been supposed to seal the deal on climate change – hit 77 days today, progress at the UN summit in New York is seen as vital. Nearly 100 heads of state and government are to attend the summit, for which a pared-down format has been devised.

"We need these leaders to go outside their usual comfort zones," said one diplomat. "Our sense is that leaders have got a little too cosy and comfortable. They really have to hear from countries that are vulnerable and suffering."

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