Former prime minister Helen Clark, head of the United
Nation's development agency, has called for climate change to
be put at the centre of international development strategies.
In a speech to the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Miss Clark set
out a four-point strategy for moving the development agenda
forward, the ABC reported.
She called for a renewed focus on meeting goals for the
future and for climate change to be placed at the centre of
development thinking and strategies.
There should be particular attention to vulnerable groups.
"For a number of Pacific Island nations and communities,
climate change is not just an abstract issue, not just an
environmental or an economic issue," Miss Clark said.
"It is about their very survival." Developing countries
needed support to recover from crises and disasters and to
improve their governance.
More use should be made of strong and innovative aid
partnerships, she said. Miss Clark will receive an honorary
Doctor of Laws degree at Auckland University next Wednesday.
Chancellor Roger France said the degree will recognise Miss
Clark's enormous contribution to New Zealand and on the
international stage.
Based in New York, where she has headed the United Nations
Development Programme since April last year, Miss Clark also
chairs the United Nations Development Group, a committee
consisting of the heads of all UN funds, programmes and
departments working on development issues.
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