Ban Says UN Remains Key to Solving Global Problems (1/2)

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon says the challenges facing the world today require dialogue and collective action. He lists the main issues, as he sees them.

"You have international terrorism, abject poverty" class="hjdict" word="abject poverty" target=_blank>abject poverty, sanitations, pandemic diseases, and most importantly these days, climate change issues."

Ban, who addressed San Francisco's World Affairs Council Thursday, said global warming will be a U.N. priority during his tenure. He says the United States, the leading emitter of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which contribute to global warming, can play a pivotal role in solving the problem.

"The United States is the largest emitter, but what is fortunate is that the United States is the biggest technological innovator."

Ban is the former South Korean foreign minister, and he has been at the helm of the United Nations for just seven months. He says the world body is under-appreciated in the United States, and he cites a poll in which two-thirds of Americans said they believe the United Nations is doing a poor job.