UN member states from the developed and developing world and representatives from businesses, the media, governments, non-governmental organizations, and cities will assemble at the United Nations Monday, February 11 for a two-day conference to discuss and debate the impact of climate change. The U.N. General Assembly will be sponsoring the conference as a part of continued discussions following the Bali, Indonesia climate-change conference in December. “What is needed is a common vision, a global consensus, a global alliance for action, shared by individuals, the media, lawmakers, business leaders, governments, regional organizations, and ultimately the global community embodied in the UN. Only then will we have a chance to tackle this enormous challenge to our lives,” U.N. General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim said in a press release to U.N. reporters. Kerim's spokesman, Janos Tisovszky, told reporters Friday that the conference is likely to continue into Wednesday because of “increased interest” in discussing climate change. He told the Saudi Press Agency (S.P.A.) that “close to 100 member states” are expected to participate in the conference. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on world leaders to act quickly, since the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which calls for limits on greenhouse-gas emissions, expires in 2012. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is scheduled to address the General Assembly along with Ban and Kerim on Monday, followed by a keynote luncheon speech by Richard Branson, chief exectuve of the Virgin Group.
