Statements made during the High Level Segment

The High-Level Segment, to be attended by Heads of State or Heads of Government, ministers and other heads of delegations, will be inaugurated during the morning of Monday, 7 December 2015. Statements by Attending Heads of State or Heads of Government, ministers and other heads of delegations will be heard in joint meetings of the COP and CMP. National Statements will continue on Tuesday, 8 December 2015. The high-level segment will conclude on the evening of Tuesday, 8 December 2015 with statements by inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations.

During the high-level segment, each Party will have the opportunity to address the plenary. Only one intervention per Party has been foreseen. Attending Heads of State or Heads of Government will be the first to make national statements followed by Ministers, and Party representatives.

Attending Heads of State or Heads of Government will be driven to the VVIP entrance of the Conference Venue. A lounge will also be available for the Heads of State or Heads of Government only.

The list of speakers (updated 7 December 2015) contains speakers who have registered and confirmed their wish to deliver a statement at the High-Level Segment of the COP and the CMP. The list is divided into morning and afternoon segments to facilitate the organization of the order of speakers.

All speakers are reminded to be present in the plenary 10 minutes, or at least two speakers, prior to their presentation. Speakers will be escorted by an usher during the presentation of the previous speaker from the seat of their delegation to a reserved seating arrangement close to the podium and they will be invited to take the floor. After their statement, they will be escorted again to their respective seat behind their country plates.

Representatives are reminded that statements made during the high-level should not exceed the three-minute limit, as decided by the Conference of the Parties at its first plenary meeting. Given the number of Parties and the limited amount of time available for statements, it will be necessary to limit the duration of each statement. In fairness to all speakers, time limits will be strictly enforced. It is suggested that statements be as brief and concise as possible. Further to the guidance from the SBI to conclude the session in a timely manner (FCCC/SBI/2014/8, paragraph 218) and following United Nations practice, a mechanism will be used to assist speakers in respecting this limit.  A bell system will be used during the delivery of statements. The bell will sound at three minutes and will continue to sound every thirty seconds until the end of the statement.

Parties are encouraged to reduce oral statements to the 3 minute limit on the understanding that the full version of their statements will be posted on the UNFCCC website.

Full texts of the official statements will not be circulated in hard copy in plenary during the high-level segment. Statements delivered during the high-level segment will be uploaded and made available on the UNFCCC website. In order to have statements posted on the UNFCCC webpage, Parties speaking at the high-level segment are requested to e-mail a copy an electronic copy of the statement to the following e-mail address Cop21Cmp11Protocol@unfccc.int

All Parties are kindly requested to provide the Conference Officer in the plenary with 15 copies of their statements in advance to meet the needs of the interpreters and the Conference records.

Should Parties not wish to speak but prefer to only have their statements uploaded to the UNFCCC website, the secretariat will make arrangements to have this done and enter the statement in the records of the Conference. Parties interested in taking up this offer should communicate their interest to Ms. Mehrican Eser or Ms. Jayne Marquard of the External Relations Office, located in in Hall 2 in the Conference Affairs Services offices or in Plenary Seine during the high-level segment.

Parties are requested to note that the secretariat is not in a position to accommodate individual requests for changes in a Party's speaking slot. Parties wishing to make a change should arrange to exchange slots with another Party, and jointly notify the secretariat of the agreement that has been reached.

Plenary access

In light of the large number of participants at the sessions, it will be necessary to manage access to Plenary Seine through a system of tickets for the opening ceremony of the High-Level Segment on the morning of Monday, 7 December 2015, beginning at 10.00.

Conference badges alone will not allow entry into Plenary Seine. A quota system has been established for delegations. Tickets will be needed to access Plenary Seine for the opening of the High-level Segment. No entry to the plenary is allowed without a ticket. The proceedings can also be followed on the screens in Plenary Loire and on the CCTV screens throughout the Conference Center.

Tickets for the High-level Segment can be collected from the Information desk of the conference venue. The arrangements for the collection of tickets are indicated below.

Party representatives

The collection of the tickets for the opening ceremony of the HLS will be possible from the Information desk of the conference venue. The tickets can be collected by the National Focal Point or by his/her authorized representatives. A letter nominating the authorized representative should be presented at the information desk. Each Party is guaranteed four seats. A limited number of overflow seats will be provided.

UN organizations and Agencies

Tickets to attend the opening ceremony of the HLS will be available at the Information desk of the conference venue. The tickets can be collected by staff member authorized by their agencies. Two seats are guaranteed plus a limited number of overflow seats.

Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs)

Tickets to attend the opening ceremony of the HLS will be available at the Information desk of the conference venue. Two seats are guaranteed plus a limited number of overflow seats. The tickets can be collected by a member of the delegation authorized by the head of the delegation, upon presentation of a letter signed by the head of delegation.
 

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

For NGO constituency members, a limited number of tickets to attend the HLS opening ceremony will be available through the constituency focal points. Please contact your constituency focal points who have received the tickets for distribution.

By introducing this system of distribution of tickets, categories represented at the sessions (Parties, UN, IGOs and NGO constituencies) will receive tickets for a set quota of representatives who can enter Plenary Seine. These tickets are transferable among the representatives within a Party delegation or each observer category. These arrangements are in force only for the morning of Monday, 7 December 2015 for the opening ceremony of the High-Level Segment.

Please note that tickets to attend the opening ceremony of the high-level segment can still be collected from the Information Desk. The tickets must be collected by an authorized member of the delegation.

Arrangements for bilateral meetings

Parties who may wish to organize bilateral meetings between Heads of States or Heads of Government, or between ministers, should proceed to do so through the standard diplomatic channels.

Other practical and logistical questions related to the high-level segment should be directed to the External Relations team located in the Conference Affairs Office in Hall 2 in the Conference Affairs Services offices or in Plenary Seine during the high-level segment.

More information on the High-level Segment can be found in the Message to Parties and also at the following link:

COP 21 Paris Information Hub