Climate change a 'threat,' Annan tells conference

There is a "frightening lack of leadership" on climate change and an urgent need for moreeffort to avoid major consequences, the UN's secretary generaltold an international meetingWednesday.

"Climate change is not just an environmental issue, as too many people still believe. It is an all-encompassing threat,"Kofi Annansaid in Nairobi, Kenya.

Speaking at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Annan said global warming should be tackled on the same scale as war, poverty and the buildup of weapons.

"While the Kyoto Protocol is a crucial step forward, that step is far too small. And as we consider how to go further still, there remains a frightening lack of leadership," he said.

Delegates to the 12-day conference, which has attracted 165 countries and ends Friday,are discussingways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions after 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol expires.The U.S. and Australia are the only major industrialized countries to reject the 1997 Kyoto accord, which calls for mandatory cuts in greenhouse gases.

Annan also announced a UN plantohelp Africa get funding for clean development projects, such as wind power and renewable energy.

Canada's environment minister, Rona Ambrose,spokeat the summit onWednesday.

Ambrose has been criticized forthe Canadian government's new environmental position a focus on clean air and smog reduction rather than the wider problem of climate change.

But after arriving on Tuesday, she told reporters there is "no bad guy" on climate change. Delegates from around the world are at the meeting to engage inserious talks, and all efforts should be encouraged, she added.

"They're all here to make progress. It's really important to start talking about inclusivity."

The conference is the second meeting of the Kyoto-backed countries, and the first UN climate summit in sub-Saharan Africa.