Home BusinessSeal the deal at Copenhagen : Ban Ki-Moon
Seeking a "strong political agreement" at the Copenhagen climate change summit, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said the world leaders "must seal the deal" to tackle the pressing issue of global warming.
"The momentum has been created. This is a decisive moment. We must seal the deal," the Secretary General told reporters yesterday at the UN headquarters at a joint press briefing with the visiting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
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Kouchner also dismissed the idea of the proposed idea of 0.005 per cent tax being the Tobin tax, a suggested tax on all trade of currency across borders.
"Some people are talking about the former Tobin tax. This is completely different. The Tobin tax was offered as a sort of "rebalancement" of the currencies – 1 per cent," Kouchner said.
France has proposed the idea of 0.005 per cent tax on financial transactions, which would provide between 30 to 40 billion euros, Kouchner said.
"We are talking about a general contribution on all financial movements, a contribution of 0.005 per cent that is to say, impossible to feel. A thousand dollars or euros will produce 5 five cents if it is accepted. It will provide funds for the third world for the Millennium goals, because we are talking in his house, in the UN system, we are talking about the Millenium goals offered in 2000, which are not fulfilled because we have no money, not enough money," Kouchner said.
Kouchner said that France has been working on this concept with a group for an year, mainly since the last General Assembly, involving 59 countries, and a group of nine international experts in banking, economists and politically involved people. He said that the group delivered a report at the beginning of every year
"They are exploring a lot of avenues and they will offer us the result of their experiences and concerns. Our idea for the time being, it has not been accepted," he said.