FINANCIAL, CLIMATE CRISES COULD THREATEN DEVELOPMENT GAINS IN ASIA-PACIFIC – UN

FINANCIAL, CLIMATE CRISES COULD THREATEN DEVELOPMENT GAINS IN ASIA-PACIFIC – UN
New York, Dec 9 2008 6:10PM
Challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region – the food, energy and financial crises, as well as climate change – could unravel development successes, a top United Nations official warned today.

Addressing the start of a two-day UN-backed meeting in Indonesia, Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (<"http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/2008/dec/g62.asp">ESCAP), said that these issues have resulted in enormous human, environmental and economic costs for the region.

"But the convergence of these crises has also brought an opportunity to take a fresh look at our policies and reshape our development agenda – for that, we must act together and act now," she told participants at the high-level meeting.

Ms. Heyzer cautioned that the food, financial, energy and climate predicaments threaten to roll back progress in the Asia-Pacific in many development areas, such as reducing unemployment and hunger.
Dec 9 2008 6:10PM
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