March 31, 2008
BANGKOK, March - Delegates from more than 160 nations launched a new round of talks in Bangkok on Monday, aiming to carry out a plan for battling global warming.
Opening the five-day meeting with a video message, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged countries to work together to find a solution to climate change.
"The state of our planet requires you to be ambitious in what you aim for and in how hard you work to reach agreement," he said.
Meeting for the first time since marathon negotiations in Bali, Indonesia late last year, delegates at the UN-led talks will work out a plan towards a new global pact on slashing greenhouse gas emissions and battling climate change.
The deadline for reaching a new accord is at the end of 2009, when negotiators will hammer out a deal in Copenhagen, according to AFP.
Individual countries would then need to ratify it before their current commitments under the existing Kyoto Protocol to cut emissions expire in 2012.
Thailand's deputy prime minister Sahas Banditkun urged nations to overcome their differences and to find ways to protect the planet.
"We need to see what we can do to make our road to Copenhagen not that bumpy, so we can all have a safe trip," he said.
At least 163 countries are taking part in the talks in Bangkok.
