UN Head Calls for ‘Revolution’ to Save Environment

Jakarta Globe, January 28, 2011 

Davos, Switzerland. United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said Friday the current economic model is an environmental “global suicide pact” that will result in disaster if it isn’t reformed.

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said Friday the current
economic  model is an environmental “global suicide pact” that
will result  in disaster if it isn’t reformed. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)  

Ban said that political and business leaders need to embrace an economic revolution in order to save the planet.

“We need a revolution,” the secretary-general of the UN told a panel at the World Economic Forum on how best to make the global economy sustainable. “Climate change is also showing us that the old model is more than obsolete.”

He called the current economic model a recipe for “national disaster” and said: “We are running out of time. Time to tackle climate change, time to ensure sustainable ... growth.”

His words received a mixed reception from fellow panelists including Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Walmart CEO Mike Duke and Microsoft’s Bill Gates. 

Associated Press