Over 150 heads of state
and government – the largest
group of leaders ever to attend a UN event in a single day – arrived in Paris
today to give their public support to the climate change talks.
The nations of the world
have gathered to reach a new and universal climate change agreement, in the
knowledge that they have already delivered an almost universal set of national
responses to meet the long-term climate challenge before the conference even
begins.
“You are here today to write the script for a new future,” said UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. “A future of hope and promise -- of increased
prosperity, security and dignity for all”.
He
says leaders gathering in Paris have the power to secure the well-being of this
and succeeding generations.
He has set what he says are the “four criteria for success” - First,
the agreement must be durable; Second, the agreement must be dynamic; The third
requirement for success is an agreement that embodies solidarity with the poor
and most vulnerable; and Fourth, the agreement must be credible.
“The peoples of the
world are also on the move. They have taken to the streets, in cities and
towns across the world, in a mass mobilization for change. I met
with several key civil society groups yesterday. It is clear to me that they
have come to Paris filled with energy and emotion – and that they expect each
and every one of you to show leadership equal to the test” said Ban Ki-moon.
Speaking at the opening
ceremony, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres said that the eyes of
millions of people around the world were on the governments meeting in Paris,
not just figuratively but literally.
“You
have the opportunity, in fact the responsibility, to finalize an agreement that
enables the achievement of national climate change goals, that delivers the
necessary support for the developing world and that catalyses continuously
increasing ambition and action by all,” she said.
Ms. Figueres said that
the past year had been a turning point and that after many years of hard work,
the world was finally seeing that the direction towards a low-carbon, resilient
future was irreversible.
“This
turning point is truly remarkable, but the task is not done. It is up to you to
both capture this progress and chart an unequivocal path forward, with a clear
destination, agreed milestones and a predictable timeline that responds to the
demands of science and the urgency of the challenge.”
On the eve of the COP21
conference, 184 countries covering around 95 percent of global greenhouse gas
emissions had delivered their national climate action plans to the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC). These
pledges constitute a good foundation, but are not enough to keep the world
below the internationally agreed maximum global average temperature rise of 2
degrees Celsius.
COP21 President, French
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, called on governments to step up their
efforts, stating that “the stakes are too high, and the menace of climate
change is too great for us to be content with a minimalistic agreement. The
Heads of State and Government who have come to Paris have come to express the
voice of ambition.”
Ahead of the Paris meeting, thousands of companies and investors
and thousands of mayors and regional governments announced their commitment to
the essential economic and social transformation to low-carbon, sustainable
growth and development.
Minister Fabius said the
conference would serve to highlight the importance of non-state actors within
the framework of the Lima-Paris Action Agenda.
During the UN Climate
Change Conference in Paris, the governments of France and Peru, along with the
UN, are organizing a series of high-level events to demonstrate that the transition to
low carbon and resilience is under way.
Throughout the eight
days of the LPAA, inspirational new commitments will be announced, in action
areas ranging from forests and agriculture to clean energy and private finance
for climate action.
No comments:
Post a Comment