Ban Ki-moon wrote a very timely Op-Ed piece in yesterday's New York Times with an Obamaesque title.
We Can Do It
By BAN KI-MOON
Published: October 25, 2009
Every day, the critical December summit in Copenhagen grows closer. All agree that climate change is an existential threat to humankind. Yet agreement on what to do still eludes us.
Ban Ki-moon points out how close we are to an agreement, and says what is needed to get us there is leadership.
Yet the elements of a deal are on the table. All we require to put them in place is political will. We need to step back from narrow national interest and engage in frank and constructive discussion in a spirit of global common cause.
Then Ban Ki-moon says that we in the United States hold the key to the success of this crucial accord. An accord with benefits that would be felt over a time scale measured in geologic time.
U.S. leadership is crucial. That is why I am encouraged by the spirit of compromise shown in the bipartisan initiative announced last week by John Kerry and Lindsey Graham. Here was a pair of U.S. senators — one Republican, the other Democratic — coming together to bridge their parties’ differences to address climate change in a spirit of genuine give-and-take.
We cannot afford another period where the United States stands on the sidelines. An engaged United States can lead the world to seal a deal to combat climate change in Copenhagen. An indecisive or insufficiently engaged United States will cause unnecessary — and ultimately unaffordable — delay in concrete strategies and policies to beat this looming challenge.
Its time for the United States to leave the sidelines and get in the game. The future of human civilization depends on OUR actions. Here in this country. NOW. The actions Americans take at this critical juncture will determine the kind of world our great, great, great, grandchildren will live in.
Could anything be more important?
Please finish reading Ban Ki-moon's essay at the link above.
For more here's an interview Ban Ki-moon did with the Seattle Times on Saturday:
A conversation with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon