Source: CCTV.com

09-14-2008 14:36

UN Chief Ban Ki-Moon arrived for work at his office in New York Friday morning in a most unusual vehicle. And he said the solar-powered car put him in the perfect mood for a climate change conference with several world leaders.

A solar powered vechile, the solar  taxi of Swiss adventurer Louis Palmer  is parked at the Swiss Embassy in New  Delhi in 2007. UN chief Ban Ki-moon on  Friday touted his commitment to promoting  alternative energy sources by commuting  to work aboard a fully solar-powered  taxi.(AFP/File/Manan Vatsyayana)

The environmentally-friendly Solartax is equipped with solar panels affixed to a flatbed, which is attached to the back of the vehicle. The panels power the battery in the electric car.

The special taxi can go about 150 miles in a single journey, with a maximum speed of 55 miles per hour.

Smiling widely as he arrived in the Solartaxi, Ban Ki-moon described this invention of Swiss teacher Louis Palmer as both creative and practical.

Ban Ki-Moon said, "I hope that this Solartaxi, one of the alternate 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 and we need to really address these energy issues and also address the climate change issues."

Ban Ki-Moon also said his ride was timely, because he was going to hold a video-conference with three key presidents dealing with climate change.

The Solartaxi then kicked off a journey around the world, which will end in Poznan, Poland in December. The aim is for its arrival to coincide with international talks on measures to respond, mitigate and adapt to global warming.

 

Editor:Du Xiaodan