The threat of global climate change and the crisis in Darfur, Sudan are the most important issues facing the United Nations, and the only way the organization can tackle them is with the help of the United States, said Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary General.
Ban spoke on Friday at the Bush Library Foundation's William Waldo Cameron Forum on Public Affairs.
Ban, who has held the office since December 2006, said he believes that a UN-U.S. partnership is vitally important to the success of the global initiatives.
"Working together is in the best interest of the United States, the best interest of the United Nations and the best interest of the whole world," he said.
The humanitarian crisis in Darfur has come to the forefront on public issues, Ban said. He said President George W. Bush is a leader in this arena, and that they are working together to solve such a complex issue.
"A few years ago, not many people had heard of this dusty corner of Africa, but today, many Americans are calling for action in the country that has claimed more than 200,000 lives and more than 2.2 million refugees," Ban said. "It's a case study in complexity. Peacekeeping is only part of the equation, a peace process is needed. We must bring all the factions to the table so the fighting will stop."
But Darfur isn't just about conflict, Ban said. It's about conflict over the diminishing resources of Africa, brought on in part by global climate change. Ban added that the conflict is "exacerbated by the long spell of drought," which causes farmers in Sudan to fight over scarce resources.
"If you don't deal with the issue of water in Darfur, if we don't deal with the issues of poverty, disease, development and the other issues at the root of conflict in the country, then there will be no solution at all," Ban said.
Ban addressed the issue of global climate change, one he says that can only be solved by the whole world's effort, through the United Nations, and not by any single nation. Ban pointed to examples of global warming that he witnessed - melting glaciers in the Andes, dried riverbeds of the Amazon and the shrinking Lake Chad in Africa. The lake, Ban said, which supports more than 30 million people, is a tenth of the size it was 30 years ago.
"The International Panel on Climate Change, an international consortium of more than 2,000 scientists, won a Nobel Peace Prize last year," Ban said. "That group proved beyond doubt that global warming is real, its impact is real and that human activity is its main cause."
But the world, especially the United States, is working towards a solution, Ban said. He related statistics about the "upcoming era of green economics," in which jobs and investment in environmental industries and green technology is quickly outpacing traditional large industries like pharmaceuticals and automobiles.
He praised Texas' efforts toward climate change mitigation, saying the state, once the oil capital of the world, is becoming a leader in green technology.
"Austin is on the brink of becoming the premiere solar-power manufacturing center in the United States," Ban said. "Many of you may have seen the front page of last week's New York Times describing how Texas is emerging as a world leader in wind power."
He stressed climate change is tied to world's economic future - not just in effects, but in solution.
"The bottom line is this: fighting global warming doesn't have to be a cost, it can be an economic opportunity," Ban said.
Ban said a solution to climate change is not far away, but everyone involved must help - including the U.S.
He said the world's problems is daunting: hunger, poverty, disease, terrorism and nuclear proliferation.
"All of these problems come to our door at the United Nations," Ban said. "Yet I am a resolute optimist."
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