Harsh words from the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon. Speaking to world economic and political leaders in Davos, Switzerland, he said we need a revolution in environmental thinking or face global disaster.

“Let me highlight the one resource that is scarcest of all: Time. We are running out of time. Time to tackle climate change. Time to ensure sustainable, climate-resilient green growth. Time to generate a clean energy revolution. We mined our way to growth. We burned our way to prosperity. We believed in consumption without consequences. Those days are gone. In the 21st century, supplies are running short and the global thermostat is running high. Climate change is also showing us that the old model is more than obsolete. It has rendered it extremely dangerous. Over time, that model is a recipe for national disaster. It is a global suicide pact.”

Mixed reception

The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is an annual gathering of the global economic elite, from political leaders to Walmart chief executive Mike Duke and Microsoft’s Bill Gates. The Guardian UK says the talk received a “mixed” reception, and added that Ban has recently despaired of trying to get the world’s leaders to agree on a climate accord and instead if pushing for a more wide-ranging sustainability initiative.

Jim Balsillie, co-chief executive of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, said technology alone wouldn’t solve the problem of how to sustain economic growth while reducing its impact on the environment. “We have to fundamentally rethink economics,” he said, suggesting that a new model was needed to hold businesses to account for their impact on the planet.

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