Climate Agreement Must Provide Framework to Spur Private Sector’s Long-Term Investments in Low-Carbon Future, Secretary-General Says in Message

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message, delivered by Janos Pasztor, Assistant Secretary-General on Climate Change, to the Meeting of Oil and Gas Chief Executive Officers and Stakeholders, in Paris today:

I am pleased to send greetings to this important meeting.  We stand at a decisive moment in history.  In six weeks, world leaders will meet in Paris seeking agreement on the first global climate change accord in which every country pledges to take action to curb its emissions.

An agreement in Paris must signal that a low-carbon transformation of the global economy is inevitable, beneficial and already under way.  It must provide a durable framework that will spur the private sector to make major, long-term investments in a low-carbon future.

The actions you take are pivotal for determining whether the world can stay within the internationally agreed threshold of a 2°C temperature rise.

If you move rapidly to diversify your businesses and embrace the path to lower-carbon energy sources that lead to de-carbonization before the end of the century, both the world — and your bottom line — stand to benefit.

Last year, I welcomed your Oil and Gas Climate Initiative at my Climate Summit.  I count on you to deliver on your pledges and to add to them.  You have the power and responsibility to chart a new energy future.  I rely on you to provide the bold leadership the world needs at this critical moment.  I thank you for your commitment and wish you a productive discussion.