As Conference Ends, Secretary-General Stresses Need to Use Important Tools

 

Delivered by Cancun Outcomes in Strengthening Efforts on Climate Change

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s statement on the outcome of the climate change negotiations in Cancun, Mexico:

The United Nations climate change negotiations in Cancun, Mexico, have delivered important success for a world much in need of it.  Governments came together in common cause, for the common good, and agreed on a way forward to meet the defining challenge of our time.

In Cancun, Governments reached agreement on a package of measures to build a low-carbon, climate-resilient future together.  These measures include:  formalizing mitigation pledges and ensuring increased accountability for them; taking concrete action to protect the world’s forests, as deforestation accounts for nearly one fifth of global carbon emissions; establishing a fund for long-term climate financing to support developing countries; agreeing to ensure no gap between the first and second commitment periods of the Kyoto Protocol; and bolstering technology cooperation and enhancing vulnerable populations’ ability to adapt to the changing climate.

The outcomes in Cancun have given us important tools.  Now we must use them and strengthen our efforts, in line with the scientific imperative for action.  I commend Governments for pursuing the path of compromise, a cornerstone of effective multilateralism.  In so doing, they have proven that the United Nations can deliver results even on the most challenging global issues of the day.

I extend my deepest thanks to the host country, Mexico, President Felipe Calderón, Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa, who presided over the Conference, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat for conducting an effective and successful process.

While there is much work yet to do, the success of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Cancun has set the world on the path to a safer, more prosperous, and sustainable world for all.

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For information media • not an official record