https://www.scmp.com/rss/268513/feed Ban Ki-moon, a former UN secretary general and former South Korean foreign minister, is now deputy chair of The Elders. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Ban Ki-Moon Ban Ki-Moon Nearly a decade ago on the eve of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, as UN secretary general, I stood alongside then US president Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping as the two countries took the historic step of joining the Paris Agreement. That moment – with the world’s two largest economies and biggest emitters – both expedited the ratification of the Paris Agreement and marked the start of an unprecedented era of climate cooperation. It showed shared responsibility in the face of an... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3310967/chinas-green-energy-leadership-can-bridge-political-economic-divides?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3310967/chinas-green-energy-leadership-can-bridge-political-economic-divides?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 May 2025 01:30:08 +0000 Humanity’s experience of the Covid-19 pandemic during the past year has prompted an elemental reappraisal of our common priorities. The very air we breathe has taken on greater personal significance and symbolism. The face masks we have come to wear to protect against transmission of the virus are a tangible sign of adaptation and sacrifice for the common good. We recognise that, to breathe freely again, we need to work together in a sustained manner with maximum resources, placing our common... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3129313/climate-change-china-japan-and-south-korea-must-work-together-end?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3129313/climate-change-china-japan-and-south-korea-must-work-together-end?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Apr 2021 01:15:17 +0000 Covid-19 has shone a light on the acute vulnerabilities of our interconnected world. No country can tackle the pandemic alone, regardless of its size, strength or technological sophistication. The only way to overcome the threat is through international cooperation and transparency. The same principles apply to an equally grave threat to the future of humanity, albeit one that rarely dominates the news. 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3090550/nuclear-proliferation-needs-multilateral-response-just-much?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3090550/nuclear-proliferation-needs-multilateral-response-just-much?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Jun 2020 17:00:15 +0000 Each year at this time, leaders gather at United Nations Headquarters in New York to assess the state of the world.  This year, I used the occasion to sound the alarm about our direction as a human family. We are living through a period of profound turmoil, transition and transformation.  Insecurity, inequality and intolerance are spreading.  Governments are wasting vast and precious funds on deadly weapons while reducing investments in people.  Too many people in power seem willfully blind to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1048405/call-ambition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1048405/call-ambition?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Sep 2012 03:04:39 +0000 Last month, competing interests prevented agreement on a much-needed treaty that would have reduced the appalling human cost of the poorly regulated international arms trade. Meanwhile, nuclear disarmament efforts remain stalled, despite strong global popular sentiment in support of this cause. The failure of these negotiations and this month's anniversaries of the atomic bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki provide a good opportunity to explore what has gone wrong and how the world can get back... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1024646/nuclear-world-not-safer-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1024646/nuclear-world-not-safer-world?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Aug 2012 16:00:00 +0000