(9 Dec 2010) SHOTLIST
1. Wide of conference hall
2. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon walking onto podium, zoom in
3. Wide of Ban on stage delivering speech, being shown also on large screen
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General:
"We are here in Cancun to make progress on all fronts in the climate negotiation, at the same time we need to dramatically increase actions that will help to prevent climate change and strengthen climate resilience, and that is why it is essential that we do all we can to support REDD plus (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation)."
5. Wide of Ban speaking on podium
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General:
"Protecting forests is vital for sustaining eco-systems and providing sustenance and income for more than a (b) billion people. I am happy to see that our willingness to act on this is growing and this is the area that we can have an agreement here in Cancun and I urge the delegations to make progress, to make an agreement."
7. Wide of people listening to speech
8. Wide of businessman and philanthropist George Soros and other panellists taking their seats on stage
9. Wide of panellists during applaud
10. SOUNBITE (English) George Soros, businessman, philanthropist and founder of Open Society Foundations:
"International negotiations are moving at a very high level of abstraction and something needs to be done on the ground and the rainforest seemed to me an area where the most could be achieved and where it is the most urgent to take action."
11. Wide of panellists on stage at end of round table
12. Panellists on stage greeting each other after round table
STORYLINE
World business leaders gathered on Wednesday in Cancun to endorse a deal negotiated at the Copenhagen summit to protect tropical forests.
Businessman and philanthropist George Soros, Walmart's CEO and Chairman Rob Walton and Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank amongst others, discussed the importance of efforts to prevent deforestation, specifically the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) programme.
The REDD programme envisions giving developing countries incentives to leave their forests standing.
The programme was touted as one of the biggest potential deals at Cancun, but the talks have been stymied by disagreements over how to finance and monitor REDD projects and "safeguards" needed to guarantee that forest-dwellers won't be evicted by the process.
A vague text may be all negotiators can achieve when the conference ends on Friday.
"International negotiations are moving at a very high level of abstraction and something needs to be done on the ground and the rain
forest seemed to me an area where the most could be achieved and where it is the most urgent to take action," said George Soros, founder of Open Society Foundations.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon enlisted a high-level group of international political and financial leaders earlier this year to offer advice.
On Wednesday the UN chief presented their ideas to the UN climate conference, including airline and foreign-exchange levies, as he led a discussion with key figures on the panel.
"We need to dramatically increase that do help prevent climate change and strengthen climate resilience, and that is why it is essential that we do all we can to support REDD plus," he said.
Ban urged the delegations to reach an agreement.
"Protesting forests is vital for sustaining eco-systems and providing sustenance and income for more than a (b) billion people," he said.
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