THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other dignitaries have launched an initiative to accelerate and expand ways for the world to adapt to climate change.

Ban is leading the Global Commission on Adaptation with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva. Its mandate is to encourage the development of measures to manage the effects of climate change through technology, planning and investment.

The commission got underway in The Hague on Tuesday, a week after a United Nations panel warned that preventing an extra single degree of heat in Earth's climate could make a life-or-death difference for multitudes of people and ecosystems.

Ban said: "The costs of adapting are less than the cost of doing business as usual. And the benefits many times larger."