DAVOS, Switzerland - Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, on Friday called on banks and other financial companies to increase financing for development of sustainable energy sources and businesses with low carbon footprints.
Mr. Ban was speaking at the World Economic Forum as part of a panel on climate change, a key topic at this year’s annual meeting.
The secretary general said he would convene a meeting of business, political and other leaders in New York in September to negotiate an agreement to address growing concerns over rising temperatures and extreme weather worldwide.
“Decrease your investment in carbon-intensive and obsolete technology,†Mr. Ban said. “Enhance your transparency with regard to greenhouse gas emissions by companies you invested in or finance.â€
Bill Gates, the founder of the computer software maker Microsoft, said that he was disappointed that investments for reliable and sustainable alternatives to oil, gas and coal haven’t been a priority. They were easier to ignore following the financial crisis, Mr. Gates said.
“Those investments only pay off in a ten- to twenty-year time frame,†said Mr. Gates, co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which funds initiatives on improving health and eliminating poverty in the developing world.
As more gains are made in reducing poverty worldwide, the world’s use of energy will only increase, he said.
