23 January 2012
UNFCCC Executive Secretary Calls for Action to Power Low-Carbon Growth
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UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres observed that Durban delivered "a loud and clear message" that the future is low-carbon and that business could provide the impetus to enable governments to move forward ambitiously.

Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary19 January 2012: Speaking on the final day of the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres summed up the main outcomes of the Durban Climate Change Conference, describing the meeting as the “most encompassing and furthest reaching conference in the history of the climate change negotiations.”

Figueres highlighted ambitious outcomes including: a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol; mitigation pledges for industrialized countries and 49 developing countries from now until 2020; and the identification of the path towards the future legal framework for all countries.

Outlining the next steps for the UN climate change process in 2012, she said the focus for the Green Climate Fund needs to be on developing the policies, process and guidelines to enable the fund to be capitalized. Regarding the Technology Mechanism, she said the immediate priority is to identify a host for the Climate Technology Center and Network in order to fully operationalize the Technology Mechanism. Observing that Durban delivered “a loud and clear message” that the future is low-carbon, Figueres said business could provide the impetus to enable governments to move forward ambitiously. She emphasized the need to move from a vicious to “a virtuous cycle of action that can power new growth, help alleviate poverty and boost the confidence of policy makers that the private sector is geared up for a low-carbon world.” [Christiana Figueres’ Speech] [IISD RS Coverage of the World Future Energy Summit]

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