UN Secretary-General heads to Dubai to receive global environmental award
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will receive a top global award for his work on environmental and sustainable development issues at an international gathering of ministers in the United Arab Emirates next week, officials at the world body announced today.
Senior environmental leaders, experts and business executives will gather Monday evening at a ceremony in Dubai to honour Mr. Annan, who in December was declared the winner of the 2005 Global Leadership for Environment, a part of the Zayed International Prize for the Environment.
The Zayed Prize, which includes three categories of awards, has previously honoured former United States President Jimmy Carter and the British Broadcasting Corporation under the Global Leadership category.
The Zayed Prize was established by Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and United Arab Emirates Minister of Defence, to acknowledge the environmental commitment of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahayan.
On Tuesday, the environmental ministers in Dubai will begin zeroing in on ways to deliver sustainable energy and environmentally safe tourist activities as they gather for a meeting hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
Nearly 130 environmental ministers, along with the presidents of Gambia and Switzerland, business executives and environmental experts are expected to attend UNEP’s Global Ministerial Environment Forum.
Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of UNEP, said the anticipated large turnout of environmental officials indicates developing countries’ growing recognition that degradation hinders economic development.
“There is every sign that we are seeing a renaissance in the commitment to global environmental issues,” he said, attributing this in part to the “soaring demand and price for fossil fuels.”
UNEP will use the three-day session to launch its Global Environment Outlook Yearbook 2006. The publication outlines the state of the global and regional environment, with a focus on energy’s impact on air quality.