U.N. climate czar issues call to action

BONN, Germany, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- The international community must take firm measures to overcome the potential effects of climate change, a U.N. official told delegates in Germany.

Christiana Figueres, the newly appointed executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, told delegates at a climate conference in Bonn, Germany, that world governments must make an ambitious effort to protect the environment.

"As individuals, as governments, as a global community, we must all exceed our own expectations, simply because nothing less will do," she said Tuesday in her prepared remarks.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a July report that human activity was a contributor to climate change and that global warming was a real phenomenon.

Figueres warned that industrial activity that contributed to the release of greenhouse gases made climate challenges worse.

"Time is not on our side," she said. "Decisions need to be taken, perhaps in an incremental manner but most certainly with firm steps and unwavering resolve."

The international community agreed at a climate conference in Denmark last year to provide $30 billion to help developing countries address climate change. Figueres said these types of commitments are needed to continue to enhance the use of clean energy alternatives.

Delegates have another round of climate talks in China in October in preparation for a major climate summit in Cancun at the end of the year.