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The article
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon showed the world the future of green transport on September 12 when he used a solar-powered taxi to get to work. The Solartaxi is the invention of Swiss engineer Louis Palmer. Mr Ban hoped his zero-emission commute would promote the use of alternative energy sources in our day-to-day life. He was very excited and positive about his carbon-neutral journey to work, saying: "I hope that this Solartaxi, one of the alternative sources of energy, can give some good messages to the people around the world that we need to be creative; we need to be practical; we need to really address these energy issues and also address the climate change issues." The Secretary General added: "This is a fantastic experience. I hope I can enjoy another ride."
The Solartaxi is currently on a worldwide tour to highlight the need for more environmentally-friendly technologies. The tour’s climax will be in December, when the energy-saving vehicle arrives in Poznan, Poland. The Polish city is hosting a conference on climate change. This gathering is part of preparations for a bigger meeting in Copenhagen in 2009, which will attempt to replace the Kyoto Protocol. Mr Palmer was very enthusiastic about Mr Ban’s trip in his Solartaxi. He said his taxi showed that there are solutions to reversing the damage humankind is doing to the planet. He congratulated the UN for its efforts: "As climate change doesn't stop at borders, it's a global problem and the UN is playing a central role in the fight to stop global warming," he said.
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