UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon in a futuristic solar-powered taxi to his office

Statesman Report Title (14.09.08): Ban Travels To UN HQ In ‘Solar-Taxi’
NEW YORK, Sept. 13: UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon has led the way in raising awareness about climate change by commuting to his office in a futuristic solar-powered taxi. Mr Ban’s green commute, which he described as a “fantastic experience”, is part of his efforts to promote environment friendly technologies. “I hope that this ‘solar-taxi’, one of the alternative sources of energy, can give some good messages to the people around the world that we need to be creative, we need to be practical,” he told reporters upon arriving at work. “I hope I can enjoy another ride,” he added. The vehicle, sponsored by Switzerland, is currently in New York as part of a worldwide journey that included a stop in Bali, Indonesia, last December for the landmark climate change negotiations. Mr Louis Palmer, the solar-taxi’s driver and developer, said he was on a mission to illustrate that solutions exist to deal with some of the problems caused by climate change. “As climate change doesn’t stop at borders, it’s a global problem and the UN is playing a central role in the fight to stop global warming,” he said. The voyage, slated to conclude in Poznan in early December, will coincide with the next phase of international talks on measures to respond, mitigate and adapt to global warming, to be held in the Polish city. “This Poznan conference should serve as a very successful bridge to the Copenhagen meeting next year so that we will be able to agree on a globally accepted, very efficient, balanced, effective and ratifiable treaty replacing the Kyoto Protocol by 2012,” the Secretary-General stated. Last month, Mr Ban began the “Cool UN” initiative at UN Headquarters to limit the use of air conditioning and heating, slash greenhouse gas emissions and save money. PTI