19 April 2013: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed ministers participating in the Ministerial Dialogue on Sustainable Development and Climate Change Financing, held in Washington, US, on 19 April 2013, focusing on ongoing work on the definition of a post-2015 development framework that builds on the successes of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and on reaching a 2015 agreement under the UNFCCC.

Acknowledging climate change as the greatest threat to all the development objectives, Ban warned that “no nation will be immune.” Highlighting the high-level meeting on climate change he will convene in 2014, he stressed the need to draw political attention on the issue and ensure that substantive progress is achieved at all levels. In an effort to make progress on addressing climate change, he underscored the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative, launched in 2011, underlining that the benefits of modern energy have to be available to all in the path to sustainable development.

Ban further highlighted the need for “strong commitment on climate finance” both to achieve a 2015 agreement on climate change, as well as an agreement on clean energy initiatives. He called on ministers to achieve the agreed goal of mobilizing $100 billion a year by 2020 for climate change, both from public and private sources, and described his strategies to engage with different stakeholders with the view to “unlock” clean energy investments, close the “viability gap” between green and fossil fuel-based projects, and facilitate renewable energy investments. However, noting that public finance for climate change remains crucial, Ban underscored that it is “absolutely important that developed countries deliver on their commitments,” and engage ministers of finance. [Ban Ki-moon’s Statement]