Toepfer is quoted as saying that recovery will take years and the situation must be monitored.

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"The battle for sustainable development, for delivering a more environmentally stable, just and healthier world, is going to be largely won and lost in our cities, " said Klaus Toepfer, Unep's executive director.

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"Climate change in polar regions is expected to be among the greatest of any region on the Earth, and it will cause major physical, ecological, sociological and economic impacts, " Dr Toepfer said.

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In reply, Dr Toepfer said analysis of whaling records and modelling studies showed that Antarctic sea ice had retreated south by 2.8 degrees of latitude between the mid 1950s and the early 1970s.

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"An early study in Iraq could either lay these fears to rest or confirm that there are indeed potential risks, which could then be addressed through immediate action, " UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer said.

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He was also honoured as Officier des Arts et Lettres by the French Minister of Culture in November 1995 and awarded the Toepfer Foundation of Hamburg's 1996 Shakespeare Prize for his outstanding contribution to European arts.

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