©ĢƵ Photo/Debebe
Statement by Mogens Lykketoft, the President of the General Assembly, at “Lima-Paris Action Agenda Focus Event: Business” High-Level Meeting of the Caring for Climate Business Forum
8 December 2015
Excellencies, distinguished guests, good afternoon to you all.
Let me first of all congratulate the Global Compact and its new Director for having so successfully organized the business segment of this COP21. I am sure that this Paris COP will be remembered as the Action and Business COP, where the economic necessity and benefits of climate action finally became evident,
I am also very encouraged by the many great examples we heard over the past few hours demonstrate the potential and necessity of collective action by business alone or with governments and other actors if we are to keep temperatures below 2degrees celsius.
Actions from business on carbon pricing, sustainable consumption and production, on global standards on energy efficiency and renewables to mention few will greatly help us to build on the baseline of COP 21.
They can also, however, help drive rapid implementation of the broader 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
After the dust settles in Paris, it will be essential to build on the momentum generated here this week and as President of the General Assembly, I will do all I can in this regard. 2016 must become the year of investments and implementation.
On 11th and 12th April, I will hold a major event to kickstart implementation of the major agreements of 2015. When this COP is over, the world community will through Addis, New York and Paris have completed the agreement on the Global Goals for the next many years.
In 2016 we need to focus on HOW to achieve the goals. We must kickstart the conversation about SDGs, financing and climate change:
First, we will ask Governments to present their initial steps to implement the Sustainable Development Goals. This could also include the INDCs. And if helpful we could aim to organize a conversation about capacity building and policy advice for developing countries.
Second we will invite in the most progressive forces from government, business, investors and civil society – including you present here today – for conversations about how to catalyse some of the most important means of implementing the Goals: 1) technology in energy, information and communication; 2) financing in all its aspects, but most urgently of sustainable, resilient and climate smart infrastructure and 3) multi-stakeholder partnerships and actions.
Finally we will aim to create synergy between acttion on climate and action on the SDGs. Thereby we can hopefully also help to strengthen the business case for action on the SDGs.
By bringing these agendas together we can help ensure that their implementation becomes mutually reinforcing. And that for business, your engagement with the ĢƵ becomes a one-stop-shop.
This week, however, we must unite to reach the needed ambitious agreement that is needed.
Thank you.