UN appoints two special envoys on climate

In this Sept. 3, 2013 photo, Jacquelin Calvaire, 17, bathes using water from a fountain that taps mountain water in Petion-Ville, Haiti. Experts are sounding a new alarm about the effects of climate change for parts of the Caribbean: the depletion of already strained drinking water throughout much of the region. AP FILE PHOTO

UNITED NATIONS – UN chief Ban Ki-moon announced Monday the appointment of two special envoys on climate change.

Former president of Ghana John Kufuor and former prime minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg have been asked to mobilize the “political will and action” of governments and heads of state.

This will lead up to a 2015 global agreement to curb climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions and they will work to raise awareness before a UN climate summit next September in New York.

“The summit will be an important milestone to mobilize political commitment for the conclusion of a global agreement by 2015,” Ban’s office said in a statement.