UN chief to travel to Durban for Climate Change Conference
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Xinhua, December 3, 2011
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will travel to Bonn, Germany, and Durban, South Africa, this weekend, to attend the openings of the International Afghanistan Conference and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, respectively, Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters here Friday.
Nesirky told a daily news briefing here that Ban will meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, where he is expected to deliberate on matters concerning post- Taliban Afghanistan, including plans to draw down NATO troops, and future peace talks with the Taliban.
From Germany he will fly to Durban, where he will meet with President Jacob Zuma and climate experts, the spokesman said.
In Durban, the UN secretary-general will preside over the opening of the High-Level segment of the world's premier annual climate change conference, where he will play the role of fund raiser.
Ban is expected to call on states to contribute to long-term climate finance funds for developing countries like the Green Climate Fund, which is aiming to raise 100 billion U.S. dollars for sustainable development ventures by 2020.
The secretary-general will also attend a meeting with members of the International Forest Protection, as well as the launch of the Momentum for Change Initiative, the spokesman said.
The Momentum for Change Initiative, designed to demonstrate how public and private sectors are already working together to fight climate change, will be launched on Dec. 6 with President Zuma.
