It didn't shock me very much that Mike Huckabee, speaking at the "Take America Back Conference," tried to hatchet the UN while pandering to his base:
One of the more curious features of this morning's Security Council meeting on non-proliferation was the conspicuous absence of the Libyan head of state. Libya, after all, serves on the Security Council so it was expected that he'd participate in this morning's session. Instead, Libya was represented by its UN ambassador.
An enterprising reporter asked Susan Rice for the United States' reaction to Kadaffi's absence from the meeting. Rice was, shall we say, diplomatic in her response.
From Comoros to Israel, Venezuela to Malta, here is day two of the UN General Assembly debate. You can watch all of the proceedings live via UN Webcast.
The day's full UNGA speaking schedule:
Chinese president Hu Jintao delivered what is arguably the most important speech of the day. Hu endorsed the rubric that countries have "common, but differentiated responsibilities" to combat climate change and laid out specific policies that China is willing to undertake at home to combat climate change. I'll post a link to the text of the speech when it is available, but Hu said that China would enforce a carbon-emissions cap on a "per unit of GDP basis" by 2020. He also pledged that China would incease its carbon sink by increasing forrest cover.
Says climate change is an "urgent, serious and growing threat."
Good morning. I want to thank the Secretary-General for organizing this summit, and all the leaders who are participating. That so many of us are here today is a recognition that the threat from climate change is serious, it is urgent, and it is growing. Our generation’s response to this challenge will be judged by history, for if we fail to meet it – boldly, swiftly, and together – we risk consigning future generations to an irreversible catastrophe.
No nation, however large or small, wealthy or poor, can escape the impact of climate change. Rising sea levels threaten every coastline. More powerful storms and floods threaten every continent. More frequent drought and crop failures breed hunger and conflict in places where hunger and conflict already thrive. On shrinking islands, families are already being forced to flee their homes as climate refugees. The security and stability of each nation and all peoples – our prosperity, our health, our safety – are in jeopardy. And the time we have to reverse this tide is running out.
And yet, we can reverse it. John F. Kennedy once observed that “Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man.” It is true that for too many years, mankind has been slow to respond to or even recognize the magnitude of the climate threat. It is true of my own country as well. We recognize that. But this is a new day. It is a new era. And I am proud to say that the United States has done more to promote clean energy and reduce carbon pollution in the last eight months than at any other time in our history.
UN Dispatch is camped out at the UN today for the climate change summit. We are among a number of bloggers on site for all of today's activities. So what are today's activities? From 9 to 11 various heads of state and dignitaries are scheduled to speak, including:
Speakers today include:
Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General
Dr. Rajendra Pachuri, IPCC Chair
Barack Obama, USA