The entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol is an extremely significant step in the fight against global climate change, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Klaus Toepfer said here Tuesday.

"First and foremost, it is now an reality. We are happy that it comes into force on February 16. The fact that it costs time underlines its importance. It is not only environmentally important, but also economically extremely important," Toepfer told Xinhua in an exclusive interview at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi.

The entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol comes seven months before nations around the world will review progress toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in September at a session of the UN General Assembly.

"These (MDGs) cover the main challenges facing the world from fighting poverty and boosting the standard of living with access to clean and sufficient drinking water to delivering universal primary education and reducing the spread of infectious diseases,"said Toepfer. A recent UN report makes it clear that the environment is a keycornerstone for delivering all of the Goals, Toepfer said, adding that climate change is constantly in the spotlight as the United Nations and some of the world leaders are tackling the economic and other reforms needed for a low carbon world.

"So we need to take this unprecedented political momentum to propel us into a new effort to move beyond the targets and timetables agreed under the Kyoto Protocol toward the even deeper cuts in greenhouse gases necessary to stabilize the world's climate," said the UNEP head.

According to statistics from the re-insurance industry, the year of 2004 witnessed the highest level of insured losses as a result of the kind of weather-related disasters forecast by climate scientists.

The uninsured losses, particularly significant to the development of developing countries and for the poorest of the poor, totaled more than 90 billion US dollars even before the Indian Ocean tsunami is factored into the sums.