Cyprus president says climate change equivalent to security threat

Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos said on Wednesday that climate change is the modern day equivalent of the security threat that necessitated the establishment of the UN in 1945, noting that it remains to be seen “whether our system can be effective in dealing with contemporary threats to humanity as it has been in dealing with more traditional security deficits.”

In remarks at the General Debate of the 62nd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York, Papadopoulos pointed out that issues concerning the Middle East, the development agenda, involvement in crises, and the humanitarian contribution, were aspects of UN work that present particular interest, adding that Cyprus maintains its focus on the outstanding aspects of UN reform.
The Cypriot president said his statement was complementary to that delivered the previous day by the Prime Minister of Portugal on behalf of the European Union, to which Cyprus fully subscribes.”

He also congratulated Ban Ki-moon on his appointment to UN Secretary General and wished him every success, noting that his report on the work of the UN “demonstrates not only the broadened spectrum of issues dealt with by the UN but also the comprehensive character and vast potential of multilateral diplomacy.”

“Among the aspects of particular interest, we note the disconcerting developments in the Middle East, the modest progress made with respect to the development agenda, the effects of the Organisation’s involvement in different crises, particularly in Africa, and the increasing impact of its humanitarian contribution,” he said.

“Moreover, we consider as an integral part of the reform process, the creation of a culture of permanent mutation of the Organisation through which the latter will adapt to future developments as they occur,” he noted.
The Cypriot president pointed out that there was ample scientific data and other overwhelmingly convincing evidence suggesting that world climate is changing to the detriment of human and ecological systems as a result of human activity, and thus “our response to this alarming phenomenon should be the focus of our debate rather than the extent to which it exists.”

“In the face of the quasi irreversibility of the damage done thus far, we should at least put the necessary focus, resources and energy in curbing the galloping deterioration of the situation and urgently decide the first steps to protect our societies from large scale future climate change,” he said.

The president assured that “we stand ready to support the adoption of a number of sectoral policies and measures” that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has deemed effective.