NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today asked all countries to take practical steps to deal with the impact of global warming, saying that adaptation to the impact of climate change is an "essential investment in our common future".
Ban said cutting greenhouse gas emissions and trying to mitigate climate change should only be one part of the global response to the issue.
"We must get serious about adaptation and we must do so now. Adaptation is both a practical need and a moral imperative," he said in a speech in front of senior Mongolian Government officials in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.
He emphasised that many of the people who are bearing the brunt of climate change are those who can least afford it or who contributed least to the problem, such as the citizens of landlocked developing countries like Mongolia, where desertification and extreme weather conditions are increasing threats.
"Expanding deserts suffocate livelihoods and a way of life. The degradation of vital pasture lands directly affects Mongolia's economy and culture. And you are not alone. You are part of the one third of the world's population - two billion people - who are potential victims of desertification," he said.
