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STORY: ARCTIC / BAN KI-MOON
TRT: 1:43
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 1 SEPTEMBER 2009, POLAR ICE RIM
1. Various shots, mountains/glaciers on the way from Ny Alesund (the northern most town on earth) to the Polar Ice Rim
2. Various shots, Captain of the NV Svalbard briefing the Secretary-General
3. Various shots, Captain of the NV Svalbard speaking to the Secretary-General
4. Wide shot, NV Svalbard approaching the Artic Rim
5. Med shot, iceberg floating past the NV Svalbard
6. Med shot, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his wife preparing to walk on the ice
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
“I am here to see for myself just how much damage this fragile arctic is suffering from as a result of climate change.”
8. Med shot, Ban drilling into the ice
9. Close up, Ban's drill entering the ice
10. Med shot, Ban holding a polar ice sample
11. Med shot, Ban lifting testing equipment
12. Med shot, Ban placing equipment into the ice
13. Zoom out, Ban using the equipment
14. Med shot, Ban talking with journalists
15. Med shot, Ban holding up a ‘Seal the Deal’ sign
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has completed a trip to the Polar Ice Rim to see for himself the effects of climate change on the vulnerable Arctic region, and draw attention to the issue ahead of the final round in international negotiations on how to deal with global warming.
During his three-day journey, Ban met with scientists and climate change experts. From the Norwegian capital, Oslo, Ban made his way to the Svalbard archipelago, where he visited research stations and was updated on the latest science regarding ice-melting.
The loss of ice in the Arctic, the Secretary-General told reporters who accompanied him to the Polar ice rim onboard the Norwegian vessel, the Svalbard, is happening at a rate 30 years ahead of schedule. He said he was informed by scientists that global warming is altering the Arctic faster than any other area, with glaciers melting at a rate of 150 cubic kilometers per year.
As he stood on rapidly melting polar ice on the Arctic rim yesterday (1 September), Ban said he had come to see for himself “just how much damage this fragile Arctic is suffering from as a result of climate change”.
He appealed to the world for urgent measures to be taken to combat climate change to protect the planet for future generations.
With fewer than 100 days remaining until the start of the climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, where nations are set to wrap up talks on a new agreement to slash greenhouse gas emissions, Ban is convening a high-level gathering in New York on 22 September to shore up political will.
Ban said that reaching an agreement – intended to go into effect when the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012 – in the Danish capital is “the moral and political responsibility required of the leaders of the world”.
Climate change will again be the focus of the Secretary-General’s remarks tomorrow when he addresses the World Climate Conference in Geneva, where he also plans to meet with several world leaders on the event’s sidelines.
The week-long gathering, which kicked off on Monday, aims to boost access to climate information to help the world’s poor and promote development.
