The following is a transcript of remarks delivered by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell at the 8th Ministerial on Climate Action (MoCA) in Wuhan, China, on 22 July 2024. Honorable ministers, Colleagues, It is a pleasure to attend this 8th Ministerial on Climate Action, in the ancient city of Wuhan. I thank our hosts sincerely for hosting these vital discussions. Meeting today in the Yellow Crane Hall is symbolic. After all, in Mandarin, the words for “crane” and “harmony” are closely associated. Ultimately, our joint efforts are aimed at enabling humanity to live in harmony with our climate, and with the ecosystems on which we depend. Because the climate crisis is hitting every nation's security, economy, and people, with rising fury and spiraling costs. I've just come from my home island of Carriacou, where Hurricane Beryl, struck the Caribbean, leaving 98% of homes either destroyed or severely damaged. Meeting with my family and community there, I was left with little else to say than ‘I’m glad you’re alive, and you can only take it day by day.’ As custodian of our intergovernmental climate process, this left me feeling gutted. Sick with the sense that this disaster is one of so many experienced just this year. Here in China, there have been devastating floods in the south, and scorching heatwaves in the north. The reality is we are not moving fast enough, even though we made good progress in Dubai, and the UAE consensus gives us the basis to build off for COPs 29 & 30. We need bolder climate action from all nations, especially the G20. We know the challenges that countries face when financing their climate plans – especially the least developed and most vulnerable - who are facing massive economic headwinds and debt crises. So, first, we must redouble our commitment to a new global climate finance goal this year. This new goal must be grounded in need, and must help countries attract investment and generate prosperity – while also reflecting the need for adaptation. Second, new sources of funding are equally vital. It's essential that governments finally reach an agreement on Article 6. There is no more time for pushing this issue into the following year. We need more climate finance while we negotiate a future goal. Progress on one enables the other. Third, we need all nations to come forward with bold new national climate plans, as early as possible, that are 1.5 aligned, covering the whole economy, and all green house gases – they are due February 10th next year. Done well, these plans are the key to stronger economic growth, more jobs and prosperity, much less pollution and better health. Fourth, as I saw in Carriacou, climate adaptation is utterly essential right now. Only 58 countries have submitted National Adaptation Plans so far. This isn’t enough. Every country needs to have an adaptation plan by 2025 and make progress on implementing them by 2030. And fifth, it’s crucial that every country submits a Biennial Transparency Report. These reports provide a clearer picture of both national and global progress, and help governments strengthen their climate policies. Colleagues, We must build on the progress we’ve made together. This period ahead couldn’t be more crucial. Which brings me back to the virtues evoked by this great hall. Cooperation is our only viable solution to this global climate crisis. Solidarity is our only pathway, to the harmony and prosperity that all people need. I thank you.

The following is a transcript of UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell's video message from his home island of Carriacou, speaking about the devastating impacts of hurricane Beryl and why governments everywhere need to urgently step up climate action. Today, I’m standing in the living room of my neighbour's house. My own grandmother's home down the street has been totally destroyed. Initial reports are that 98% of homes and buildings have been either destroyed or severely damaged by this most recent record-breaking hurricane Beryl. Being back home in Carriacou, I and my community are experiencing the devastation that has become all too familiar to hundreds of millions of people around the world. I'm also inspired by the resilience of people here and around the world. The survivors of climate-driven disasters – who tell me that material possessions are not as important as the air in their lungs, and the safety of their family and their loved ones.   From the largest and most developed nations to the smallest and most vulnerable. Whether it's my home island of Carriacou, the United States, India, Kenya or any country on earth – what happens in the next three months, the next three years to the families still living under a tarpaulins, still in debt to the bank for a home that no longer stands, as the next brutal storm, flood or wildfire approaches, fuelled by the climate crisis. Or the endless debt cycles of governments borrowing to rebuild, only to face another climate inflicted disaster, forced to borrow again and again to rebuild their battered infrastructure, to divert scarce resources from educating their children, providing healthcare, and developing their nations. Tragically, this upheaval of lives and livelihoods from Beryl is not unique. It is the growing cost of unchecked climate carnage, in every country on Earth. Globally, these storms have never been so powerful or so frequent, floods so sudden and destructive, fires and droughts so devastating and costly, in the immediate and longer-term. Just in the past month, we've seen heatwaves with four-figure death tolls in India. Over a thousand pilgrims died on their Hajj to Mecca this year. Two years ago, one-third of Pakistan was under water, over a thousand people lost their lives, millions were displaced, and 3.5 million children were out of school. In the Caribbean and the USA, Beryl developed a double blow of climate-driven pain: home-destroying force, leaving literally millions without power in Texas alone, amid health-endangering heat. These colossal climate costs have reached the level of severe national security threat in every country. These climate-driven disasters don’t just cripple lives and communities when they hit. They inflict huge ongoing costs the world over. A recent report put the costs of inaction at $38 Trillion a year, until 2050. The same report says climate action will cost less than a sixth of that. Climate impacts have pushed down global food production and pushed up food prices and other costs of living. Beryl is yet more painful proof: every year, fossil-fuel driven climate costs are an economic wrecking ball hitting billions of households and small businesses. If governments everywhere don’t step up, every economy and eight billion people will be facing this blunt force trauma head on, on a continuous basis. Rather than just counting the costs of climate carnage; all governments must supercharge efforts to prevent them. This means all governments must put climate action back at the top of cabinet agendas. First of all, we must stop making things worse. We must slash fossil fuel pollution now, and halve it this decade, as science demands. The G20 are responsible for 80% of greenhouse gas pollution. They must lead the way with game-changing new national climate plans – due earlier next year – which deliver on the promise every country made last year to transition away from all fossil fuels. We need stronger adaptation plans, building resilience and protecting communities, economies, supply chains and company bottom lines, currently getting hammered by global heating. Finally, climate action is an investment, not a cost, delivering returns on investment in new, clean infrastructure and generating economic growth. Climate justice requires much bolder climate actions that deliver real-economy and real-life results. Standing here, it's impossible not to recognise the vital importance of delivering climate finance, funding loss & damage, and investing massively in building resilience, particularly for the most vulnerable. The UN is working around the clock to play our part – bringing all nations together to agree bolder actions, and with vital practical measures on the ground like extending Early Warning Systems to every person on Earth. Our determination is unwavering. We will not relent. On this tiny island, as in the biggest cities of the world, I see determination also in the eyes of people from all walks of life. Determination not to take the climate crisis lying down, or to accept half-measures. To people around the world, we need your help more than ever, to get more action from your governments and business leaders. The only way out of this is together. What the climate crisis did to my grandmother's house must not become humanity's new normal. We can still prevent that, but only if people everywhere speak up, and demand bolder climate actions now, before it's too late. I thank you.

The following is a transcript of UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell's closing remarks at the June UN Climate Meetings (60th Subsidiary Bodies) on 13 June 2024. The speech is also available in Chinese (中文), French (Français), Russian (Русский) and Spanish (Español) and can be viewed on YouTube.  Colleagues, in Dubai, we came together. We overcame differences. Even though it was hard. I have committed to you all that I will be an honest and neutral broker. In that spirit, I can say that we’ve taken modest steps forward, here in Bonn. But we took a detour on the road to Baku. Too many issues were left unresolved. Too many items are still on the table. On the positive side:  We streamlined content going into the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance. Clear options and substantive framework of a draft decision must be finalised before we get to COP29. We are taking steps forward towards adaptation indicators that are forward-looking, effective, and scientifically sound. We made some progress towards a better functioning international carbon market, but still have a way to go to get this over the line. We worked together for transparency and supported each other in planning stronger NDCs. But we have left ourselves with a vast amount to do between now and the end of the COP. I urge you: don’t leave the hardest work to the eleventh hour.  Business-as-usual is a recipe for failure, on climate finance, and on many other fronts, in humanity’s climate fight. We must uphold the science. And one thing is absolutely clear - success requires getting more serious about bridging divides and moving quickly from streamlining to specifics. We can’t keep pushing this year’s issues off into the next year. The costs of the climate crisis - for every nation’s people and economy - are only getting worse. On finance, we need more progress outside of our process. The G7 meeting this week is no time for resting on laurels. Advanced economies have multiple levers to pull, including as shareholders in development banks. But all nations have a role, particularly inside the process. To make the most of these opportunities, we need to separate the technical from the political. In parallel, we must accelerate and prepare to elevate, if we are to land a deal in Baku. Time is short. We must make progress at all levels - heads of delegations must now redouble efforts, to present ministers and leaders with viable options well before COP.  I urge all governments to step up efforts on stronger national climate plans:  NDCs - that cover every sector and all greenhouse gases, and that unlock more finance. National Adaptation Plans - that protect everyone - especially the most vulnerable. Biennial Transparency Reports - that shine a light on global climate progress and where more action is needed. Social equity, including gender equality, must be at the heart of all of these plans, and everything that we do.  I want to thank the SB-chairs, Harry Vreuls and Nabeel Munir, and their team of co-facilitators for their diligent work, and for the round-the-clock efforts of so many delegates, and of course the tireless work of my secretariat colleagues. And my sincere thanks today to my staff members - Kate McBride, Don Cooper, and Laurence Pollier - for their decades of outstanding service to the United Nations, and I wish them well on their upcoming retirement. Thank you. Colleagues - there’s no two ways about it. These are challenging times. We’ve left ourselves with a very steep mountain to climb to achieve ambitious outcomes in Baku. Our process is about finding solutions. And we can still do it. Whether we do is up to all of you. The secretariat will be with you on every step of that path forward. I thank you.  

The following is a transcript of UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell's remarks at an event on the Enhanced Transparency Framework on 10 June 2024, during the June UN Climate Meetings (60th Subsidiary Bodies) in Bonn. Watch the webcast of the event and a video interview with Simon Stiell on why 2024 is critical for transparency. In my opening speech I called the Paris Agreement the machinery for climate action. Together we make that machinery work. But it’s a complex and interdependent machinery. We can’t just demand it to do more. Biennial Transparency Reports – BTRs – shine a light on progress. They tell us if the machinery is working, how it’s performing, whether we are reaching our Paris Agreement goals. Or are the lights flashing red on the console? Do we need to make repairs or upgrade to get it working faster or better? The incoming COP Presidency has asked Parties to submit their BTRs ahead of COP29 in Baku, where possible. I’m delighted that countries have already responded.  Last year, Andorra became the first country ever to submit a BTR, and another came in just recently from Guyana, a member of the Alliance of Small Island Developing States. Preparing these reports isn’t just about ticking a box. Knowledge gained will help countries make informed choices, set ambitious goals, and unlock the finance needed to support them. For example, Guyana’s report details the progress made measuring the vast forests that cover the country and the carbon that they capture. As well as highlighting areas where more investment is needed. Countries like Guyana can then build on these reports to strengthen their national climate plans - their NDCs - and develop more effective policies. Clear and honest reporting also strengthens trust between countries and among stakeholders, and that creates the conditions for faster and fairer action. Clearly some countries are facing much bigger challenges. We acknowledge that all countries, particularly developing states, often face problems gathering, managing, and analysing data and producing reports. Every country starts this process from a different place. But we can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Nobody is expecting countries facing enormous and urgent human and economic challenges to submit a platinum-standard report first time around. I encourage you all to submit the best possible report you can, this year.  And rest assured, support will be provided for those who need it most. The UNFCCC secretariat is working overtime to provide as much practical help here as we can. We have already trained more than 1100 experts from 150 countries, building the capacity of thousands of practitioners, including across other intergovernmental organizations.  This month, we will deliver new Enhanced Transparency Framework reporting tools that integrate tracking of greenhouse gas inventories, action, and support.  In partnership with Microsoft, we are also developing a new Climate Data Hub to bring this data to life. On top of this, we’re working on more training and capacity building, and piloting new review processes and procedures.  We encourage you to take every opportunity to learn, test, and build the new skills and capacities that you need.  There is no magic wand. We need every country to play their part. If you need help, please reach out. Support is there to help.  Parties should also support each other. No country can solve climate change alone. Every country can learn from their peers.  We need a paradigm shift on climate transparency. We should not see reporting as a burden, but as an incredible opportunity - to learn from the data and to design more effective policies. To direct resources where they’re needed most. And to share the successes we're so proud of. Together we can build capacity, to see and seed more climate action and change lives for the better.  Together we can put the Paris Agreement machine to work.  Together for transparency. I thank you. 

The following is a transcript of UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell's opening remarks at the June UN Climate Meetings (60th Subsidiary Bodies) on 3 June 2024. The speech is also available in French (Français), Russian (Русский) and Spanish (Español) and can be viewed on YouTube. Read our media advisory for more information about the two-week conference.    Friends, on behalf of my colleagues across the secretariat, a very, very warm welcome to all of you. We have much work ahead, so let me get straight down to business. People talk about the architecture of the Paris Agreement that all your nations collectively created and agreed.  I prefer to think of its engineering. The design phase is completed, and our task now is to put that machinery to work, fully and fairly. Crucially - we need every part of this machinery fully functioning and working coherently together. So - what does that mean for you and your work here in Bonn?  Let me touch on a few key issues. On finance: First, we must make serious progress on finance -- the great enabler of climate action. Here in Bonn, I urge you to move from zero-draft to real options for a new collective quantified goal on finance. We cannot afford to reach Baku with too much work still to do. Please, make every hour here count. We need more climate finance while we negotiate a future goal. Progress on one, enables the other. New grant and highly concessional forms of finance to developing countries must be coupled with global financial reforms that deliver debt relief and affordable finance, and finding new and innovative sources of finance, outside of the process. We must also move towards better carbon markets by making progress on Article 6 here in Bonn… Getting these markets to work can unlock more funding for national climate plans and adaptation… That's why we're convening Parties and stakeholders during these meetings, to build consensus on a way forward at COP29. On Nationally Determined Contributions:  This new round of national climate plans – NDCs 3.0 – will be among the most important policy documents produced so far this century. NDCs are not just about averting disasters through reducing emissions… Done well, they can serve as powerful blueprints, to propel each of your economies and societies forward, and drive more resilience, more opportunity, better human health and higher living standards. These plans should be bolder - with more ambition - and should speak to closing the implementation gap,  building on what has already been achieved. They should be broader, covering whole economies, all greenhouse gases and be 1.5-aligned. And their benefits should flow to all, including women, Indigenous Peoples, youth and those most vulnerable to climate impacts hitting right now. There is no one-size-fits-all; after all they are nationally determined. And we know many Parties will need help putting them together, especially the most vulnerable nations. The secretariat – working with the entire UN system and our partners – is working overtime to provide practical tools which can help. UNDP's Climate Promise is a central component of the UN system's practical measures to help Parties. Next week we’ll also launch our NDC 3.0 Navigator, developed with the NDC Partnership, to help Parties access information, tools and contacts that can help them develop new NDCs with a focus on real implementation. On transparency: Under the Paris Agreement, Parties agreed to submit their first Biennial Transparency reports this year. These reports will help Parties build the stronger evidence base for ambition. They’ll also send donors and investors a clear signal about the scale of the opportunity, as well as the needs. We are on track to finalizing the reporting tool, so it's available for use by all Parties by June 30th, on schedule. I urge all Parties - let’s not allow perfection to be the enemy of the good in getting this first round of BTRs submitted this year. We're here to help you take that crucial first step, particularly through extensive capacity building and we will work with you to improve your reports over time. On impacts and adaptation: Climate change impacts are not isolated events. They transcend political boundaries, damaging economies and causing cascading changes to our societies and culture, with children and the most vulnerable bearing the brunt. Which is why every Party needs a National Adaptation Plan that covers every sector of the economy and works across our societies. It's time to re-envision NAPs, and turn our minds to how they can be improved. One clear way is by designing them with a clear view of unlocking much more adaptation finance and support. To date, only 57 -- only 57 -- Parties have put together a plan. By the time we meet in Baku, this number needs to grow substantially. We need every country to have a plan by 2025 and make progress on implementing them by 2030. Civil society and inclusiveness The task ahead is to put the climate action machinery to work fully, but also safely and fairly, so its benefits are equitably shared through a just transition. The role of civil society is essential - to ensure all voices have a chance to be heard, and to hold all of us to the promises that we make. And if we want to leave behind business-as-usual, gender equality and climate action must rise in tandem, to realize their full transformative force. We will keep playing our part to ensure a safe space for meaningful and inclusive participation. Budget and process Collectively Parties have directed us to deliver around 20% more mandated events during these June Sessions, compared to last year. And every year the number of mandates grow. We welcome the vote of confidence in this process and our capacity to provide high-quality services in support. However, financial contributions have not increased to match these growing mandates, and many existing funding pledges have not been fulfilled on time.  This approach has its logical and human limits, and growing costs. I do appreciate the progress in the past few months in filling some of these gaps, including to ensure all Parties - especially the climate-vulnerable - are represented here in Bonn. But we still need sustainable and consistent funding to meet all your needs, and growing mandates. So in conclusion friends… For all of us, who live and breathe climate change every day of every year, there are plenty of obstacles to overcome.  It can be tempting to feel discouraged some days... But let me offer a counter-point, in the hope of putting some wind in your sails as we start these meetings. What you - and people like you - have achieved in the past three decades through this UN-convened process - is cause for pride and renewed purpose. Without UN-convened international cooperation, we would be headed for up to 5 degrees of global heating, which most of humanity likely could not survive. We are now heading for around 2.7 degrees. This is still ruinously high, and there’s a long and steep road ahead of us to get to our shared goal of 1.5 this century, but we should be energized that we are approaching a halfway point. It’s clear that the second half of humanity’s climate journey will be even harder, and climate action will need to move at a much, much faster rate…  So we cannot afford rest-stops or detours at this half-way point in humanity's climate journey...  And we absolutely cannot afford to stumble in the next ten days, or for global climate progress to stall this year and beyond. This requires trust and respect for each other.  Full adherence to the code of conduct is essential, with no exceptions. Respectful disagreements are part of this process, but they must not be its defining feature or its outcome. I urge you to come together, and to overcome differences.  This is not a moment for trying to try, but for finding solutions and forging pathways forward. And it's now my privilege to hand this process over to the co-chairs. I thank you.

The following is the transcript of a speech delivered by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell at ADA University on 2 February 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The speech previews the key issues and actions needed in the crucial years ahead, building on progress at COP28 in Dubai.   It’s a pleasure to be here in Baku, as preparations begin for another UN Climate Conference – the 29th. I again offer my congratulations to the government and people of Azerbaijan.  It is both an honor and a huge undertaking and responsibility to serve as host and Presidency-Designate of a COP. I have been very encouraged by the constructive and thoughtful discussions we have had so far this year, and in particular in recent days here in Baku. A willingness to take on the hard work of driving large-scale change is absolutely essential.  Because the time has passed for business-as-usual, in all aspects of the world’s climate fight. So today I’ll take a different approach in this lecture. 2050 I want us to start in 2050, imagining what the world will look like if we do succeed in both limiting global warming to 1.5°C and protecting all peoples from climate change impacts. Of course, it will be no utopia, and there is a potential extinction to contend with, but I will come back to that. In this vision of success, global energy systems are at net-zero emissions. Countries – or at least regions – will largely be energy self-sufficient. Renewables have made energy accessible, affordable and predictable for all. That means we avoid the shocks and inequalities that have shaped economic trends and conflicts in the past. The global financial system has prioritised human wellbeing over servicing only the bottom line. The trillions previously spent on fossil fuel subsidies are available for better purposes: health care, education, safety nets for those who fall behind. Our resilient societies have moved from an extractive to a regenerative relationship with nature. It’s no longer medically hazardous to go outside in major cities due to air pollution. Millions of lives are saved each year as a consequence. 25 years of building investments in climate resilience and adaptation, changes in agricultural practices and harnessing nature have blunted the damage to people and property from extreme climate events. You don’t need to be a fortune-teller to see that the multi-decade decarbonization journey will be among the greatest global economic transformations of our age.  In full flight, it will be comparable in scope to the industrial revolution or the advent of the digital economy. Meaning it is also among the greatest commercial opportunities of our age, and – if we get the transformation right – it will be the advent of profound societal changes and real-world benefits for the 9.7 billion people expected on our planet in 2050. I want to make one thing clear: this vision is not bright-eyed wishful thinking. It is reflected across the full gamut of the Paris Agreement and in agreements negotiated line-by-line, word-by-word, comma-by-comma, at subsequent UN climate conferences. It is neither utopian nor dystopian.  It is utilitarian, pragmatic and achievable, based on existing but not yet fully scaled technologies and implemented policies. 2030 So let’s work our way backwards. We are now in January 2030. The country progress reports, formally referred to as Biennial Transparency Reports, show global emissions have been reduced by 43% by 2030. They also show the emission curves can be bent further downwards where gaps remain in implementation, particularly if support continues to ramp up. Renewable energy is abundant and affordable, including in developing countries, delivering fully on the COP28 agreement to triple renewables. Record investments are going into national and regional grids, and demand-side solutions to drive investment certainty. A fair price on carbon – traded globally with integrity – is further driving investments towards renewables, super-charging innovation. We have broken the investment cycle in fossil fuels.  Economies have diversified, their individual pathways away from fossil fuel production are creating more jobs, stronger supply chains and more stable economic growth. Methane emissions are negligible, through simple but rapid action across all industries. Billions more people have the practical tools to adapt and withstand climate impacts. Early warning systems have covered all people on Earth since 2027. The Loss and Damage fund is rapidly responding where losses and damages are occurring – demonstrating that innovative approaches – such as the Transitional Committee established by UN Climate Change after COP27 – can yield real-world results. 2025 Now move your imaginations with me to the closing plenary of COP30 in Belem, Brazil, where we celebrate having secured “Mission 1.5”. Earlier in the year, all countries put forward a new national climate plan – these Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs version 3.0 – are markedly different from those that went before. For starters, their pledges are 1.5-aligned, they cover every greenhouse gas, and they lay out how each sector of the economy will transition. Secondly, they address how each country contributes to the outcomes of the Global Stocktake of 2023. The United States, China, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, Germany, India, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, France, Australia, Argentina, Mexico, South Africa, Italy, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, the European Union and Türkiye as the G20 –  together responsible for 80% of the world’s emissions in 2025 –  have seriously re-engineered their targets on this basis. Because they know that PR spin, re-branding or tinkering around the edges won’t cut it to meet their climate responsibilities, and that it would also leave them badly behind the innovation curve, not at the cutting edge. These national climate plans aren’t just pieces of paper, they must be backed by robust policy instruments, costed out and translatable into shovel-ready investment opportunities. Every country has also delivered a National Adaptation Plan – simply speaking – a resilience plan for each country to protect its people, their livelihoods, and nature from spiralling climate impacts. Countries are embarking on climate-resilient development. During 2025, UN Climate Change has produced a report, synthesising the Biennial Transparency Reports submitted before the end of 2024. This report is a significant milestone –  the first progress report from countries on their implementation of the Paris Agreement since its adoption 9 years previous. It demonstrates that the ‘implementation gap’ is just as important as the ‘ambition gap’ and shows the critical role of international cooperation in closing it. So, countries responded by overhauling their standard operating procedures. Bold climate action must be mainstreamed across all functions of government and all aspects of business and investment, with public and private sectors working in concert, together with communities and experts, leaving no one behind. We see the Just Transition moving from concept to lived reality, for real people everywhere. 2024 Now, take a mental walk with me, a few miles down the road here in Baku, to COP29 in November – a critical enabling COP in the climate ambition cycle. What must we do this year to ensure the world’s shared goals remain within reach? We must spend the year working collectively to evolve our global financial system so it’s fit-for-purpose, with a clear plan to meaningfully execute the climate transition. Looking at the numbers, it’s clear that to achieve this transition, we need money, and lots of it. $2.4 trillion, if not more. $2.4 trillion is what the High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance estimates is needed every year to invest in renewable energy, adaptation, and other climate-related issues in developing countries, excluding China. Whether on slashing emissions or building climate-resilience, it’s already blazingly obvious that finance is the make-or-break factor in the world’s climate fight – in quantity, quality, and innovation. In fact, without far more finance, 2023’s climate wins will quickly fizzle away into more empty promises. We need torrents – not trickles – of climate finance. The New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance must be agreed. Countries must be confident that they will be able to rapidly access sufficient concessional support. With finance, as with other commitments, transparency is essential for building trust, delivering impact and therefore forging more ambitious commitments. Climate finance must not be quietly pilfered from aid budgets. And it must be designed to be leveraged, driving and protecting development gains, whilst delivering concrete implementation of climate action. In parallel, clear progress must be made to address the assessment of investment risk, the allocation of Special Drawing Rights, innovative sources of financing from sectors, and creative mechanisms to tackle unreasonable debt burdens. 2024 is the year multi-lateral development banks must demonstrate - with concrete actions - their centrality in the world’s climate fight, and their determination to deliver impact at scale. They should take bold steps towards financial innovation that will double, if not triple, their collective financial capacity by 2030 - particularly with respect to grants and concessional finance. Furthermore, they should commit to leveraging their engagement with the private sector to double and triple the overall rate of private capital mobilisation. Today Which brings me to today. I stand before you at, what is now estimated to be above, 1.1 degrees of warming, coming out of the hottest year on record by a huge margin. It will take an Olympian effort over the next two years to put us on track to where we need to be in 2030 and 2050. In fact, the action we take in the next two years will shape how much climate-driven destruction we can avoid over the next two decades, and far beyond. The Olympic motto “faster, higher, stronger” should be our shared climate mantra. UN Climate Change will be stepping up to help coordinate the support available for countries to build the capacity needed to deliver NDCs, NAPs, and BTRs, working with all those active in this space. We have already proven we can meet the challenge ahead, having bent the curve of expected global temperature rise from nearly 5 degrees, to 3, closer to 2.5 through UN-convened global cooperation. Whilst last year’s agreement on the Global Stocktake at COP28 was far from perfect, it would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, and sends a very strong signal about the inevitability of global decarbonization. But now is no time for victory laps. It’s time to get on with the job. Likewise, hiding behind loopholes in decision texts, or dodging the hard-work ahead through selective interpretation, would be entirely self-defeating for any government, as climate impacts hammer every country’s economy and population. To citizens around the world, I say directly, we need you. Your voices – demanding bolder climate actions now – need to be heard clearly by your representatives. At UN Climate Change, we will not rest in pushing for the highest ambition – in accordance with the science – working side-by-side with all governments, businesses and community leaders. Which brings me back to the extinction in 2050 I mentioned at the start of this lecture. Having completed its core mission, that is the extinction of UN Climate Change as we currently know it. In a functioning era of implementation, I can foresee our organisation existing only as a data repository, accurately reflecting the numbers, as countries deliver on their commitments, in line with the already agreed global targets. It is my earnest hope that by 2050, this organization will be rendered redundant, in a net-zero, climate-resilient global economy. Consigned to a place in the history books: a chapter about how humanity saved itself and its only home. I thank you.

I’m not sure what time of day or night it is.  I’m not even sure what day it is right now. But first of all – I want to thank you, the international media, for your important role in this process. I said in the Plenary we needed a global green light signaling it’s all systems go on renewables, climate justice, and resilience. On this front, COP28 delivered some serious strides forward. Progress has been made. Tripling renewables and doubling energy efficiency. Operationalizing the loss and damage fund, and making an initial - an initial - down payment. A framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation. I will leave the commentary and the analysis of all of that to yourselves. I will just say the many initiatives announced here are climate action lifelines, not the finish line. What I’m focused on is seeing these pledges converted into outcomes in the real economy, where the rubber really hits the road on climate action. COP28 also needed to signal a hard stop to humanity’s core climate problem - fossil fuels and their planet-burning pollution. Whilst we didn’t fully turn the page on the fossil fuel era in Dubai, this is clearly the beginning of the end. At every stage climate action must stride forward side-by-side with human development, dignity and opportunities for all. We’ve heard the concerns from Samoa and all island states. Island States made it clear from the floor that this consensus does not go far enough to protect their populations and the planet. The fact they received the longest standing applause is a clear indication these views are widely shared. I also applaud this highest ambition, as I did in the plenary, where I also noted we are currently headed for just under 3 degrees. This still equates to mass human suffering, which is why COP28 needed to move the needle forward. The text leaves a lot of room for interpretation. You heard the comments from the US Climate Envoy that the US is committed to the most ambitious interpretation of this text. If all countries don’t take this approach, loopholes leave us vulnerable to fossil fuel vested interests, which could crash our ability to protect people everywhere against rising climate impacts. Transparency and people holding their governments to account will be vital to closing these loopholes. This agreement is an [ambition] floor, not a ceiling, so the crucial years ahead must keep ramping up ambition and climate action. That’s why we’ll be getting on with the job of putting the Paris Agreement into full effect. We’re rolling up our sleeves. We have a great deal of work still to be done. In early 2025, countries must deliver new Nationally Determined Contributions. Every single commitment – on finance, adaptation, and mitigation – must bring us in line with a 1.5-degree world. I’m happy to take a couple of questions. Q: Do you truly believe with all the science you know of and all the expertise from the UN, that this is enough to keep us below 1.7? A: This keeps 1.5 alive but only if all countries, all actors within this fulfill their commitments and follow the prescriptions that are laid out, both in terms of the response to the Global Stocktake, which highlights all of the elements, all of the tools that enable us to close that gap and ensure that 1.5 is reached. Q: With reference to what you said the first day, would you say this baby is toddling, walking, or running? A: Well as I said inside in terms of rating this, we needed a green light, we’ve got an amber light. So there’s still a great deal of work to be done, but there are paths forward. There are signals, very very clear signals for how we must move forward. Q: Thank you for all the work that you’ve done. With now the elephant in the room being tackled - or beginning to tackle the elephant in the room. How committed is the UNFCCC to work with other parties from next COP and on, especially on financing? A: We have a guiding star, guiding principles laid out in the Paris Agreement. And our role is to be the steward and the custodian to ensure that those terms - the direction that is given - is carried out, working with all Parties to ensure they fulfill their commitments and their contribution to climate action. Q: Can we talk about consensus, when a group was not in the room? A: I didn’t hear that sorry. Q: Can we talk about consensus, when a group was not in the room? A: There were no objections to what was gavelled so agreement has been reached.

The following is a transcript of a speech delivered by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell at the closing of COP28 in Dubai on 13 December 2023.

The following is a transcript of a statement UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell delivered to journalists at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28) on Monday 11 December 2023 in Dubai.

The following is a transcript of remarks made by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell at the Annual High-level Ministerial on pre-2030 Ambition at COP28 on Saturday 9 December 2023. You have probably heard me say that COP must mark a shift from the ‘what’ to the ‘how’. On 2030 ambition the ‘what’ of halving global emissions this decade is well known. So I won’t dwell on it here today, except to make this one point – about how we think about, and talk about what’s needed by 2030. It’s high time we stop thinking of halving emissions as a some nice-to-do ‘aspiration’. We must start treating it as a rock-solid destination, backed by unwavering determination and science. In other words – it must become a ‘must-do’ if we are to keep the global economy functioning, and protect billions of human lives. Most importantly – it must be backed up by concrete actions and detailed plans to turn ambition into into real-world outcomes. Which brings me to the more fundamental question of ‘how’, and what pre-2030 ambition could or should look like in practice. The first point is that no government is starting from scratch. The Paris Agreement fully anticipated that national climate actions would need to systematically strengthened over time. This can and should happen in several ways. The next round of NDCs is due in 2025, and early in 2025 under the Paris Agreement’s ratchet mechanism. That’s in part why this COP must deliver on two time frames: a climate action surge now, and a springboard for the crucial years ahead. At COP 29, we’ll need to agree on an ambitious new financial goal, and highest ambition outcomes here at COP28 will be the precondition for that. Then at COP 30, we will set the majority of the five-year Nationally Determined Contributions. They must be much bolder, more ambitious, and more holistic. When we think of pre-2030 ambition, the mantra should be ‘there’s no time like the present’! the moment before us is now, right now. Every NDC provides a foundation to build on, and every year and every COP should put more tools on the table. Putting these tools within all Parties reach must be a constant imperative. This is why I have been so focused on finance as the great enabler of Parties’ ongoing acceleration, especially in the global south. As the data shows us falling further behind schedule, the case grows stronger and stronger for continuously raising pre-2030 ambition, and actions to deliver it. In relation to pre-2030 ambition here in Dubai, all roads lead to the Global Stocktake. The outcome document for the Global Stocktake will set the course and ambition level.  It must also start laying out the ‘how’. It must agree on the tools and solutions that Parties need right now – to accelerate their climate actions across their real economies. And enable them to aim even higher, and develop detailed, economy wide plans that translate this ambition into real outcomes. And that moment as I said, starts here. I thank you.

Simon Stiell at COP28 Green Climate Fund event.

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary at COP28 Opening

from UN Climate Change Executive Secretary

Statement by the United Arab Emirates and UN Climate Change on an inclusive COP28 UN Climate Change News, 1 August 2023 - At the conclusion of the signing of the Host Country Agreement for COP28, the President-Designate, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell made the following statement: “As the work to prepare for a successful COP28 gathers momentum, we want to express our commitment to making COP28 an inclusive and safe space for all participants." “Recognizing the global nature of the climate emergency and its varying impacts across communities and societies, we want to emphasize the crucial importance of an inclusive, transparent, and respectful setting for all participants to engage in the COP process." “In line with UNFCCC guidelines and adherence to international human rights norms and principles, there will be space available for climate activists to assemble peacefully and make their voices heard. We are committed to upholding the rights of all participants and to ensuring that everyone’s perspectives are heard and their contributions to the climate challenge are recognized. “We will work together to make COP28 the most inclusive UN Climate Change Conference to date. To this effect, we have written to all Parties urging increased participation and meaningful engagement of youth, women, local communities, and Indigenous Peoples as members of Party and observer delegations to COP, and in climate decision-making, policy, and action in the lead up to and during COP 28 by providing appropriate quality and modalities of participation.” Dr. Sultan added: “The COP28 plan of action is centered around: fast-tracking a just, equitable and orderly energy transition; fixing climate finance; focusing on people, lives and livelihoods; and underpinning everything with full inclusivity. The COP28 Presidency believes inclusivity is a critical enabler to achieving transformative progress across the climate agenda. Only by rising above our differences and working together can we raise our shared ambition and deliver progress to keep 1.5C within reach.” On his part, Simon Stiell said: “As custodians of the process, the secretariat is dedicated to supporting the Parties implement their climate commitments, including under the Paris Agreement. To drive climate action and ambition forward, we are firmly committed to ensuring that UN values are upheld at COPs. We are also making every effort on our part to ensure that this will be a COP process where the voices of youth, women, local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and those most impacted by climate change will be heard and reflected within the process.”

Keynote speech by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell at G20 session on Environment and Climate Sustainability in Chennai, India Colleagues, friends, This month we have experienced the highest global temperature on record. Heat waves in North America, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, China. Wildfires. Drought. Torrential rains in India and South Korea. Extreme heat in the Antarctic and the oceans. This is Climate chaos. The G20 was created in the wake of a financial crisis. Since then, its leadership has always been broader than macroeconomic issues - it has addressed issues such as cease fires and nuclear disarmament. And it was at the G20 in China, in 2016, where Premier Xi Jing Ping and President Obama formally announced their countries’ accession to the Paris Agreement. The point I’m making, is that this forum has both precedent and obligation to demonstrate leadership on crises and as I laid out in my opening - This is a crisis. Our ministerial convenings must deliver progress. It is a colossal waste of time and emissions for us to gather, if our intention is merely to reiterate what we already know. Let me highlight a few specifics areas of consensus or suggested solutions from recent meetings that we could be taking forward: Phasing down fossil fuels is essential and inevitable. On loss & damage there is a clear expectation that we will deliver on the task parties set themselves at COP27 – to operationalize the arrangements including the fund. We must keep 1.5 alive, for instance through global 2030 targets on renewables, energy efficiency and economy-wide emission reduction targets, covering all greenhouse gases. We need a strong outcome on the global goal on adaptation, on which much remains to be done, is expected. We need tangible movement on climate finance, which is essential to all other workstreams. As a bare minimum, a demonstration of progress on the 100 billion, the doubling of adaptation finance by 2025 and a strong GCF replenishment. But we must go much further to enable the scale of action we know is necessary. Reforming multilateral development banks and other institutions is necessary to create a global financial architecture fit for purpose to deliver climate action. And that we need a just transition. As custodian of the Paris Agreement, I must speak truth to power. You are collectively not doing what you signed up to do. Geopolitical tensions have thwarted our efforts, demonstrating that we are collectively unwilling to pull the levers at our disposal, namely, the transition away from fossil fuels, the funding required to do so, and the support to all that are already struggling to adapt to a 1.1 degree world, let alone a 1.5 one, or heaven forbid a 2.5 degree one. Climate action cannot happen without secure, accessible and sufficient finance. Those around the room who provide it, that provision of proper support is an essential responsibility, without which you become a blocker of the actions required to address the crisis. In addition, those around the room, obstructing the signals necessary to instruct markets and generate momentum on the transition of the energy system, you are blocking the actions required to address the crisis. We should be able to come out of this meeting with a strong communique – one which covers all relevant issues to the climate crisis. That includes how we will tackle the problem through the energy transition and how climate action can be funded. Incoming COP28 President Dr Sultan, will be convening us in Dubai in around 120 days, providing the opportunity for us to practically tackle what needs to be done through the Global Stocktake, for us to course correct and get on track with delivering on our collective commitments. We need a call to action, with a message on how every government, industry and individual can play their part in the profound transformation we agreed to. Between now and then, I implore you not to sit on your hands. Clearly there are significant divides which need bridging. Pair up, across perspectives, and find solutions, build the elements of the package. The UNFCCC will continue to support you. Climate action cannot be a victim of political tensions, for left unaddressed it will deliver its own tensions. We must come together at COP28 in a spirit of political engagement and global cooperation to show the people of this planet that we are acting at last. I thank you.

Joint statement by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell and COP28 President-Designate Dr. Sultan Al Jaber on of the outcomes of the G20 Energy Ministerial in Goa, India. With only 125 days to go, we must use every opportunity between now and COP28 to align action and political will going forward towards the common goal of closing the gaps across all of the pillars of the Paris Agreement and get on track to keep 1.5⁰C within reach. The G20 is responsible for 85% of the world’s GDP, but also 80% of the world’s emissions. Leadership by the G20 is indispensable to enable an inclusive and ambitious development agenda that demonstrates to the world that the transformation towards a net-zero and climate resilient world comes with great benefits for growth, poverty eradication and sustainable development. While the discussions at the G20 Energy Ministerial considered energy transition and aligning current pathways with the Paris Goals, the outcome did not provide a sufficiently clear signal for transforming global energy systems, scaling up renewable and clean energy sources and responsibly phasing down fossil fuels. This year, more than ever, unity is a prerequisite for success. Globally, the world has experienced its hottest summer on record, climate change continues to impact people every day, particularly the climate vulnerable, and they are looking to us to take decisive action. The signal we send for the conclusion of the first ever Global Stocktake at COP28 will be crucial. This cannot only look backwards, but should also set out a collective pathway going forward. A commitment to more ambitious action, across all pillars of the Paris Agreement, is needed to ensure a credible response to the GST and to strengthen the integrity of the multilateral process under the UNFCCC as a whole. The science demands a strong mitigation outcome at COP28 that drives a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and builds on the progress of previous COPs. We call on the G20 to lead the way on the basis of both science and equity, laying the path to a strong and credible outcome that provides developing countries with the basis to undertake a just transition. Together, we must take necessary steps to accelerate our inevitable decarbonization in a responsible manner, while enabling energy access for all, promoting sustainable development and supporting just transition. Tripling global renewable energy capacity and doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvements across sectors by 2030, including ramping up electrification and enhanced cooling approaches, is critical to enable this. We must not only address supply, but also demand, in particular transforming heavy emitting sectors. It is our hope that any progress achieved by the G20 drives strong outcomes at COP28 under the Global Stocktake and capitalizes on the Just Transition Work Programme established at COP27 to ensure that this transition is fair, leaves no one behind and supports the broad development challenges faced by developing countries in launching this transition, which should address the transformations needed under both the mitigation and adaptation agendas. A credible response should be underpinned by clear and tangible outcomes on adaptation, where the impacts on lives and livelihoods demand clear action. Even at 1.2⁰C, we have seen the increasing impacts of climate change every day, but without an adequate global response to address them. The Paris Agreement enshrines a warming limit which is publicly accepted. But we also set ourselves the task of defining a Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) and operationalizing the loss and damage fund and funding arrangements. We need the G20 to ensure that the human face of the climate crisis is at the center of all its decision making. This includes a GGA Framework that elaborates the vision for a landing zone for global resilience, as well as the means to assess progress towards this landing zone, while pinpointing the necessary adaptation action globally, and what strengthened adaptation finance must support, including the urgent commitment to double adaptation finance. As the IPCC has set out, some of the impacts of climate change go beyond viable adaptation. It is absolutely clear that COP28 must deliver on the promises on loss and damage made in Sharm-El- Sheikh. The G20 must affirm its commitment to achieve the operationalization of the fund and funding arrangements. Those at the frontline of climate change need our support now, not in 5 years’ time. This is the benchmark for ambition. Whether we can deliver on a truly ambitious agenda that fills the gaps to 2030 will depend on our ability make climate finance available, affordable and accessible to developing countries. Climate finance arrangements will need to be transformed to deliver at the necessary scale, to work better as a system and to support private finance mobilization at unprecedented levels. Commitments made must be delivered upon, including on the $100 billion, adaptation finance doubling and the forthcoming GCF replenishment. G20 countries must also demonstrate leadership in actively aligning financial flows to the Paris Agreement through the multilateral development banks and other avenues. We must leave Chennai on the right path and with a clear signal that the political will to tackle the climate crisis is there. Every meeting counts, every outcome must bring us closer. COP28 will bring countries together to deliver the way forward on climate action, commitments on mitigation, adaptation and finance will need to be revised, to be in line with delivering on the Paris Agreement. The world needs its leaders to unite, act and deliver; and that must start with the G20.

Keynote speech by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell at opening of the 7th Ministerial on Climate Action in Brussels on 13 July 2023 Colleagues, friends We are now halfway through the year to COP 28. I’m pleased that many of us have seen each other quite a few times at various events this year. When preparing for this, I was thinking about the progress of this year. I was wondering what it is that we have collectively building towards, each time we meet. The resounding feeling I had was the possibility of building a collective understanding, which can be duly tested with those colleagues not present, and provide us with the opportunity to make considerable progress in Dubai. The Global public is looking at us around this table now and they will look again in a few months’ time. People are looking for the signal that we understand the urgency of the crisis and are collectively rising to the occasion. I am supposed to list all the progress we have made thus far, but I won’t because you were there. All those around this table are dealing with competing priorities at home. I know this, particularly, as a former developing country minister. Adding “achieving development gains and delivery of fundamental rights or services” to the list of priorities, makes it ever hard to juggle. Having said that, when the world landed the Paris Agreement, we didn’t have all the data and information we now do. We know now, that if we don’t save the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal, all those competing priorities will become a lot harder to achieve. Fresh out of the UNFCCC’s Subsidiary Body meetings in Bonn, I was left with a resounding feeling that all Parties know what needs to be done. Everyone knows that if we all go at this together, as ambitiously as we possibly can, at the same time, not only will we be protected by our collective action, but we have a far greater chance of success.  During this conference, I want us to get into the sticky issues. Let’s ask the tricky questions, those that will help us get from knowing what needs to be done, to how we do it. Here is what I have heard from Parties on what they want to see at COP28 thus far: Firstly, that the global stocktake is our opportunity to enhance action and the support necessary to achieve our goals. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity. Beyond the stocktake, COP28 will address a range of implementation issues. We need an agreement to set up new funding arrangements and a fund for loss and damage, and to complete the operational arrangements for the Santiago Network. Together, these would make the international climate change regime fully “fit for purpose” for addressing loss and damage. We must complete the work on the global goal on adaptation, including establishing a solid methodological framework, to bolster adaptation at all levels. We must also strengthen our mitigation work programme and make it more efficient in light of the urgent need to address the emissions gap. We must address head on difficult issues such as fossil fuel subsidies, the phase-down of coal and addressing other fossil fuels. The excitement the world feels about the energy transition conversation is palpable. We will leave fossil fuels in their own dust, as renewables take center stage. Parties have called for targets to be set to help us get there in Dubai. The work programme on just transition established at COP27 is crucial because we must engage all of society in climate action so that no one is left behind.  We must still build the substance of this programme. Negotiations started in Bonn last month, and a good outcome on the just transition in Dubai would be a key achievement. We must demonstrate credible progress towards the long-standing goal of mobilizing 100 billion US$ of climate finance annually. We need an ambitious replenishment of the Green Climate Fund, and progress in doubling adaptation finance. Discussions on a new goal for climate finance and making financial flows consistent with the Paris goals will also be important. And we must see how the international financial system responds to calls for reform. In Dubai, we will also prepare for the start of the reporting and review process next year under the enhanced transparency framework. Demonstrating support for implementation by developing countries will be crucial. COP 28 will also consider the empowerment and gender work programmes, which will be key to advance inclusive climate action. We are continuing to work on ensuring greater accountability of voluntary initiatives by non-state actors, such as the private sector and cities, through our Global Climate Action portal. These voluntary actions will support the solutions-oriented outcome of the stocktake, delivering systems transformations to get Paris Agreement implementation on the correct course. On Non-State Actor accountability in particular, I have heard the concerns from Parties at the SBs and have mobilized a process to better understand those concerns and respond to them in any next steps. I’ll end by going back to my sticky issues plea. It will be all of you making the decisions in a few months. During the sessions, please speak from your thoughts rather than limited to strict notes – let’s understand the interests behind positions. I thank you.

Remarks by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell at the 80th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80) hosted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in London on 3 July 2023. Colleagues, Five years ago, IMO ironed out the initial GHG strategy that sent a historic signal to the world that international shipping will at least halve emissions by 2050. Two years ago, IMO agreed to initiate the revision of the initial strategy by increasing its ambitions. And now we are here to adopt the revised strategy: with the ambition of a just, equitable and inclusive transition to the decarbonization of the shipping sector. This is good progress. However, three months ago, IPCC’s AR6 and UNFCCC’s National Determined Contributions synthesis report added more clarity and details to the simple truth – this body has to do more on climate change now. With the latest NDCs submitted and current ICAO’s and IMO’s commitments, the carbon budget for 1.5°C will soon be exhausted. And by soon I really mean soon, by the early 2030s. If parties represented here at the IMO choose a low ambition pathway, our ability to meet our Paris commitments will be compromised. The IPCC clearly demonstrates that it is possible to limit global warming to 1.5°C with rapid, deep and immediate emissions reductions across all sectors of the global economy. How you revise IMO’s GHG strategy is critical for keeping 1.5°C alive. At COP27, Parties to the Paris Agreement emphasized the urgent need for immediate, deep, rapid and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions across all applicable sectors. Parties also recognized the importance of both enhancing support for developing country Parties and minimizing negative economic and social impacts. In this context, the shipping sector, like all others needs to be aligned with net zero by 2050.  This would also mean having clear plans with interim targets to get there, including absolute GHG reduction targets, in a just and equitable, and inclusive manner. A clear plan for the transition for all ships and harbours to meet net zero by 2050. Let’s work this backwards, net zero by 2050, means delivering reductions by 2040 and 2030 – meaning, we need a timeline to bring measures into force now. This sector is abatable – the technology exists to do what is needed. The IMO, as the global regulator, can set the path of how we take advantage of that fact. By setting absolute emissions reductions targets and shepherding the corresponding transition to a booming clean energy and renewables-based sector, the IMO’s leadership will support the transition of other critical sectors. Colleagues, This year’s global stocktake – a process under which countries assess the progress towards the Paris Agreement and how we take the steps to adjust and better meet those commitments, needs engagement from all. Therefore, I encourage the IMO’s strong participation in the political phase of the 1st global stocktake. Given our location and the time of the year we find ourselves in, I want to leave you with a few words from Arthur Ashe, who was the first black tennis player to win Wimbledon. He said “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do all that you can.” Let us take this opportunity to land a decisive win towards meeting our Paris Agreement commitments. We know we can. I thank you. 

Lecture given by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell (Twenty-Third William G. Demas Memorial Lecture) on the occasion of the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Caribbean Development Bank.   Good afternoon your excellencies, governors, ladies and gentlemen. It is an honor for me to be here today. And it is a great pleasure to be back in our Caribbean neighbourhood. This meeting comes at an opportune moment from the perspective of the climate calendar, sandwiched between the June Intersessional negotiations and the Paris Summit on finance. Today I hope to fill the shoes of others that have gone before me, by marrying my understanding of our Caribbean neighbourhood with the perspective I am afforded from my current position in UN Climate Change. As I was preparing my remarks for this memorial lecture, I imagined asking Dr Demas for his advice: what would he be thinking about the challenges of the day? I can promise you his thoughts would be vastly wiser than mine, but today I want to share with you a vision, a vision of our region and its impact on the world’s drive to tackle the climate crisis, the forefront of the ‘How’. Our Caribbean region is perfectly placed to provide a bridge between divided international communities, incubate solutions and chart a path forward which others can crowd in behind. As you all know, Dr Demas was renowned for being a strong and passionate advocate for the Caribbean integration movement. He saw that as a region, when the Caribbean united, it was stronger. As a brilliant economist, he understood the central role of finance in determining the options available, providing the freedom to choose one’s own path towards a just and prosperous society.   As I imagined him sharing his advice, I realized that his work is now more important than ever, and the themes he cultivated are as relevant for our time, of post-pandemic climate change and geopolitical turbulence, as they were when he guided the Caribbean fifty years ago. The Caribbean region was one of the front runners pushing for inclusion of the 1.5ºC target in the Paris Agreement of 2015. Those negotiating on our behalf knew all too well that 1.5 wasn’t just a commitment, it was a lifeline, and it would require them to be agents of extraordinary change to deliver it. Despite a litany of hurdles, we succeeded.  As the science now tells us the dramatic difference in negative consequences of a world 2°C warmer, rather than 1.5°C, the fact that we managed to secure this ambition to limit global warming to 1.5°C, means we may have changed the whole world for the better as a result. 1.5ºC is not only inscribed as the stretch commitment in the Paris Agreement, it’s enshrined into action across the entire world economy. As I stand here in front of you today, nearly eight years have passed since the world came together around the Paris Agreement. Two things have become clear: One -Implementation of that agreement is progressing, but Two - more slowly than required. 149 countries now have a net zero target. 145 states & regions now have a net zero target. 252 cities now have a net zero target. And 929 publicly listed companies now have a net zero target. The direction of travel is clear as day and becoming more robust all the time. National government net zero targets underpinned by legislation or policy documents have increased in the past two-and-half years from less than 10% to 75%. There is no smart CEO in the world today who is not thinking about climate as it relates to their business strategy, their products, their customers and other stakeholders.  The Paris Agreement has transformed the world to be far different than it would have been without it.  Of course, the global COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine have not helped in this regard; and The effects of climate change have shown themselves earlier than most people expected, with more devastating consequences. Despite all the pledges, collectively we are far behind in our actions to cut emissions on time. In the Caribbean in particular, we face the challenges of pledged support and promises going unfilled, high debt burdens, low fiscal space, extreme vulnerability to external shocks, and low economies of scale. We also know that nearly six trillion dollars is needed across all sectors in developing countries by 2050 to meet our climate commitments. We couldn’t have greater clarity from the scientists, that the scale of the problem is enormous and that there is a cavernous gap between what actions are needed and our political, regulatory and societal response. Into that gap, fall the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, entire ecosystems, cultural traditions, hopes and dreams. It is a gap of suffering, deeply and profoundly, at the cost of inaction and delay.  Yet, our scientists are telling us that reaching the 1.5ºC ambition is still possible, but the window of opportunity is quickly closing. This is where I see my work marrying up with the vision of Dr Demas – the climate and development agendas have gone hand in hand in this region for decades, perhaps by other titles, but the understanding is engrained. Friends, What we need now is a dash of the practical Caribbean ‘How’. In just a few months, the world’s governments and civil society groups will reconvene in Dubai for COP28 to: Take stock of how we’ve done since Paris: the first official global stocktake. To chart a course from there to 2030 that will put us onto the track we need, and To embed the transformation of the finance agenda to make that course correction possible. At this global stocktake, we cannot afford disparate approaches. At the end of this week, many of us here will travel together to Paris, for an event which is slated to focus on restoring fiscal space, foster private sector development, encourage investment into green infrastructure and mobilise innovative financing. Now that’s a lot for one meeting. Whatever comes from the event itself, from the Climate perspective we need two things: One – more finance, available this year. And Two – a roadmap for unlocking significantly more finance between now and the end of the decade. This brings me to the vision of what our Caribbean region is uniquely placed to bring – bridging, solutions, and a pathway forward. Bridging At school we were all taught: “An eye for an eye, makes the whole world go blind”. But unfortunately, this is where we find ourselves in our drive for collective progress on climate action – a chicken and egg situation if you will. There are countries within the negotiating arena who see it as their role to hold up progress in the negotiations and refuse to take action at home, until sufficient finance is delivered to support it. There are others who refuse to provide all the finance promised, until they see ‘meaningful action’ is being taken. Here’s the thing – action has to be taken and it has to be taken now. To take action you need finance as an enabler. So both of these things have to happen and they both have to happen right now. As I said in my closing speech of the June Intersessional negotiations in Bonn at the end of last week – climate change is not a North vs South issue. We need a proactive bridge between the two. A voice which can champion a progressive third way. A third way which delivers for those that need it most – that means action and provision of support to enable further action in an upwards iterative spiral. A voice that holds space for sensible progress. Progressive alliances tend to be issue specific, finding it easier to build common ground around one issue - may that be mitigation action, or the importance of certain ecosystems. We need to build common ground across issues, a package of action which will ultimately deliver for us all. In the Caribbean, we are uniquely placed to understand what this needs to look like, having experienced climate impacts for generations. Consistently responding to change by building our communities around principles of growth, global integration and sustainability, with one eye constantly on self-sufficiency. With our limited resources, we know the struggles of what it takes to keep the lights on, cupboards filled, children educated, and opportunities for resilience taken. We are practical people, we can provide the bridge between approaches which provides the space for more ambition on all issues globally. Speaking of which, it was the small island states, under the leadership of Antigua & Barbuda as AOSIS Chair, which helped land the definitive outcome of a fund and funding arrangements for loss & damage. A disagreement which had plagued the negotiations for years. We will continue to need our regions leadership to bridge between factions and deliver the fund this year, with the support of the Transitional Committee – building the necessary political will for success. Finding Solutions The next USP of our region in tackling the global challenge is our size. Where creating economies of scale may have been on Dr Demas’s mind when he proposed deeper integration and regionalism, they are possibly an opportunity in the climate context. As a region, we punch above our weight when it comes to world changing ideas. Just take Prime Minister Mottley’s recent drive to make the global financial architecture fit for purpose. The Bridgetown Initiative is attempting nothing less than finding a way to provide emergency liquidity, expand mulitlateral lending to governments by 1 trillion dollars, and activating private sector savings for climate mitigation and fund reconstruction after a climate disaster through new multilateral mechanisms.   That’s a tall order, but delivery starts with putting one foot in front of the other, biting off sections bit by bit. The Caribbean is, to a large extent, still dependent on fossil fuels for its energy supply. But no-one wants to be beholden to the international price of oil and gas. Solar and wind are cheaper than ever now. They make more money and pay back far faster than fossil fuels. Energy production globally is shifting from a concentrated, expensive, polluting commodity-based system, to an efficient, manufactured, technology-driven system that offers continuously falling costs and is available everywhere. The world will add a record 440 GW of new renewable capacity this year, double what the International Energy Agency predicted in 2020.  For the first time this year, renewables are eating into the energy market share. Solar is attracting more capital than oil. We cannot end fossil fuel use over night, but we need to put a plan in place for its accelerated replacement by renewables.  Globally, a rapid, but phased and responsible transition away from fossil fuels would bring a raft of benefits to populations and societies. National governments and non-governmental organizations are already piloting and implementing new financial instruments and other financial products to support more effective mitigation, adaption and responses to loss and damage. Take the examples of the blue bonds Barbados and Belize have already invested in. These effective instruments, in which expensive debt is swapped with debt at a much lower coupon result in reduced public debt. They ensure precious coastlines, that protect the region from climate impacts, that benefit the region’s economies and its peoples’ wellbeing, are set aside to be conserved. Ecuador - not far from here - has just swapped $1.6 billion in bonds for a new $656 million loan - in the biggest debt for nature swap in history. But it won’t be the biggest for long. And there is no better positioned region than the Caribbean, along with the other SIDS, to further pioneer innovative financing approaches for managing the climate crisis and buffering against further loss and damage.  Meanwhile, regional risk pools and insurance providers are already considering opportunities to offer new products and increase accessibility to their services. The Caribbean Climate Risk and Insurance Facility provides insurance for Caribbean and Central American governments and electricity companies for cyclones, excess rainfall, fisheries, and electric utilities for short-term recovery. And look at Jamaica’s innovative catastrophe bond, which secured $185 million of disaster insurance protection with the assistance of the World Bank and the IBRD Capital-At-Risk notes program. This type of financing can help ensure the region isn’t completely economically devastated when the next big hurricane hits, but rather is better prepared and more resilient.  We are providing the test cases for other Small Island Developing States and regions to build from. We must use our scale as an advantage, to explore ideas and, dare I say it, fail fast. We will not meet the scale of the challenge we currently face without testing options and testing them at pace. Now, I am aware, that is not the normal message to give to a room of prudent bankers, but I am not here to provide reassurance, I am here to provide the warning of what will happen if we do not lean in. My message to multilaterals and international financial institutions is how important it is to shift our focus from de-risking project to sectoral level finance, to better enable the necessary investment flows into the region. We know better than most the inherent bias that can exist in international systems. Those systems that don’t understand investing in developing countries, those that consider it to be more difficult than it is. Bias doesn’t just change through education alone, it also changes through demonstration. This is my plea to you to document and share what you are doing. Don’t be quite about either your success or your failures. This requires a new approach by the international financial community - the difference between the real and perceived risk costs – with a competitive cost of capital that enables the levels of investment flow required to support the regions transition and development. We simply don’t have time not to. Charting a Path This brings me to my final point – charting a path. You only need to listen into conversations between people on the block, or in a rum shop here in the Caribbean, to quickly realise how we can cut through the noise and get straight to the point. The international multilateral system needs clear voices which can unravel confusion and chart a way forward. I want to give you a very simple but powerful example of this. There is a person in this room, who attended the Climate negotiations in Glasgow, COP26 – through their engagement in those meetings, relationships they developed with the Presidency, working in cooperation with others in the region and other SIDS, they made the difference on whether the call for Special Drawing Rights was included in the decision, further tipping the international community into action. That person was your own Bank president. … so I can personally vouch for the effectiveness of his travels!    At the recent Spring meetings, I found myself looking around a room full of eminent persons, and I noticed something interesting. I noticed a clear convergence of language in the room, both identifying the problem and what needs to be done to fix it. That is a distinct shift from where we were even a year ago. But the next thing I noticed was the problem, each person pointing fingers at each other to start, rather than pointing the finger at themselves. That approach might eventually get us to where we need to be, but I can guarantee you, it will be woefully too late. More than grand statements, we need people to roll up their sleeves. People willing to sit together in a room, for as long as it takes to figure out the ‘how’ – how we are going to get from point a to point b. This is my call to you to give a particular focus to your work with shareholders to support their engagement and active delivery in this space. Globalisation has brought many positives, but we should not accept a total homogenisation of ideas or approaches. Our culture in the Caribbean has always seen value in more than money. And today we have the opportunity to lean into that, further developing our thoughts, feelings and perspectives on what makes or gives something value. Where we value our security and resilience, vulnerability can be assessed in a number of ways. Building a collective vision of accepted ways to judge value, gives us the opportunity to better measure progress from each of our context-specific baselines. The region can chart a path by testing and incorporating these approaches, without having to wait on others who might be wedded to the more traditional methods. It will take courage and creativity to unite and to break through the obstacles in our way. But our region has the character of spirit required. With the beauty of nature ever present on its islands. With the joy and resilience of humanity so self-evident in its people. The Caribbean is the region that can make the difference now in this moment of consequence. It’s done it before and can do it again. Today you are the ones at the heart of that story. The way forward is yours to design.  Build bridges, find solutions, and chart the path forward. I thank you.

Remarks at the Opening of the 2nd Glasgow Dialogue on Loss and Damage.

Remarks at the opening plenary of the third technical dialogue of the global stocktake.

Remarks at the Opening Plenary of the Bonn Climate Change Conference, June 2023 (SB 58)

Address to delegates at the Petersberg Dialogue on 2 May 2023.

Video message delivered at the Second Zero Carbon Cities International Forum that was held in Tokio, Japan early March 2023.