26 August 2015: The UN Secretary-General urged climate negotiators to accelerate the pace of negotiations and outlined key features of the expected outcome of the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) during Ambassadors’ Week in Paris. The one-day event dedicated to preparing for COP 21 included a joint press stakeout with Laurent Fabius, French Minister of Foreign Affairs and incoming COP 21 President.

The Secretary-General noted that the “climate conference in Paris later this year is at the very top of the international agenda.” Calling the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted recently a “path to sustainable development,” he warned that unless the world takes urgent action on climate change, sustainable development will not be achieved.

On the COP 21 expected outcome, he said it must: send a strong signal that the world is committed to a low-carbon future; be a durable agreement to provide the private sector with the predictability and policy frameworks it needs to invest in clean energy and climate-resilient approaches; be flexible to provide incentives and incorporate more ambitious, science-based nationally determined targets over time; uphold the principle of equity, support the adaptation needs of developing countries, and demonstrate solidarity with the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable countries; and include credible, clear mechanisms for measuring, monitoring and reporting progress in a transparent manner on a full range of actions.

He called on developed countries to provide greater clarity before COP 21 on the public finance component of the promise to deliver US$100 billion per year by 2020, as well as on how they will engage private finance. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) must be “up and running,” with funds that can be disbursed before Paris, he added, encouraging countries and companies to “take the lead” in developing clean energy technologies and markets.

During the joint press stakeout with Fabius, the Secretary-General noted that the climate negotiators have been “doing business as usual,” and repeating what they have been doing during the last 20 years. Underlining that there is “no time to waste,” he called on world leaders to give a clear message to their negotiators to accelerate the pace of negotiations, and on ministers to give clear direction to the negotiators. “It is not the time for negotiators and world leaders to mind their own small territory of their national government or country. This is an issue for the whole world, whole humanity,” he concluded.

The Ambassadors’ Week took place from 24-28 August 2015, in Paris, France. The event dedicated to preparing for COP 21 took place on 26 August 2015. COP 21 will take place from 30 November – 11 December 2015 in Paris. [UN Press Release] [Secretary-General Remarks] [Secretary-General Remarks at the Joint Press Stakeout] [Ambassadors’ Week Webpage]