Changing to meet climate change

It is imperative to ease transfer of technology between nations to save the world from the looming climate crisis that knows no borders.

It's 37 years since the UN Conference on the Human Environment in 1972 in Stockholm emphasized the importance of technology transfer in achieving environmental and developmental goals. It's 17 years since the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 adopted the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Only months are left for the meeting in Denmark since the Bali Action Plan was initiated at the 2007 UN Climate Change Conference, which set the goal for an agreement on "deep cuts in global emissions" this December in Copenhagen.

More waiting will be more costly. When EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas announced the less-than-expected 15 billion euros ($22.1 billion) assistance for poor countries to battle climate change on Sept 11, he emphasized the sum "will only get higher if we delay".