Ground-breaking ceremony
for the extension of the UN Campus in Bonn
Bonn, 6 October 2016
Address by
Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am honoured to join my dear friends – State Secretary Ms Schwarzelühr-Sutter, State Secretary Mr Steinlein, Ms President Wesseler and Spokesman of the Board Dr Gehb – here today. I am also glad to join all the representatives from federal, state and local Governments of Germany, German society and UN Bonn to lay the cornerstone for this new building.
I would like to thank the German government for your significant support for UN Bonn. We recognize what this building means for our global transformation to a sustainable future and we recognize the role of our host government, regional government and city in this.
Last year, through the hard work of many UN agencies and staff members here in Bonn and around the world, we laid the cornerstone for a more sustainable, more climate-safe future. By adopting both the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Change Agreement, governments of the world determined that there can be only one development path. That path must be sustainable. It must be in harmony with the natural world. And when we get on this path, we will improve lives and livelihoods for billions of people around the world.
Like this cornerstone, the SDGs and the Paris Agreement could not be put in place without a great deal of hard work by many people. Architects had to sketch the vision of a better future. Partnerships had to be established. The full participation by those who can actually build such a future had to be secured. And the support of all governments had to be realized. This preparation, these partnerships and this universal participation allowed these cornerstone agreements to be put in place. And now the process of building begins.
Over the next few years, much of the building of our better, brighter future will happen here in Bonn. Governments have signalled their intent to implement the Paris Agreement with rapid ratification of the agreement, and I must thank the government of Germany for joining those who ratified swiftly and have allowed this historic agreement to enter into force early. Governments – alongside businesses, investors, cities and regions – have shown they are ready and willing to work towards a sustainable development model that serves every person on this planet for generations to come.
Peace, prosperity, public health, safeguarding species, equality and educational progress for everyone. So many staff members here at UN Bonn are working to deliver on these promises. And they do so with the generous support of the German government. Truly, as we look forward to our task of meeting some of the greatest challenges of this young century, we do so from our home here in Bonn.
I would like to express my deep gratitude towards the city of Bonn, the state of North Rhine Westphalia and the federal government of Germany for making this place a home. I invite my colleagues in all the UN Bonn agencies, here in the 20th anniversary year of the UN in this fine city, to turn our home into a hub of sustainable development. And ask all private sector partners gathered here today to understand their integral and important role in the transformation that we are working towards. Just as this building required visionary architects and competent builders, realizing the vision of a better future for all requires active engagement by all.
Thank you all for the support that has brought us to this exciting point of departure, and I look forward to working with you in the months and years to come as, to quote our common UN Bonn slogan, together we are Shaping a Sustainable Future.
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Please note: This is prepared text of the speech and may differ from the delivered version.
This speech is available in English and German.