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United Nations, 16 November 2017 ¨C The President of the 72^nd?Session of the United Nations General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Miroslav Laj??k, returned to New York today, following a visit to the 23^rd?session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵFCCC), which was held in Bonn, Germany. Addressing the gathering on 15 November, he called on all States to meet commitments made, speed up climate action, and forge new partnerships.

?Alongside numerous Heads of State and Government, including H.E. Mr. Frank Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji and President of the Conference, H.E. Mr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of Germany, H.E. Ms. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany and H.E. Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of France, President Laj??k urged nations to stand together in combatting climate change, saying: ¡°The common threat of climate change binds us together. Only together we can solve it. We have common but differentiated responsibilities for the state of our planet. ¡°

¡°The multilateral agreement to tackle climate change is there ¡­ [but] action is needed. And it is needed urgently¡­ The message is clear: our pledges are insufficient,¡± he added.

The President also highlighted the importance of looking beyond the walls of the negotiation rooms, noting, ¡°The people most affected by climate change are not in this hall today. However, this doesn¡¯t mean they can¡¯t guide and influence our discussions. Their stories must be told by us. Their experiences must be heard by us.¡±

Adding that we need bold and innovative partnerships, he stressed that ¡°the United Nations must be the master coordinator. It must lead the charge.¡±

While in Bonn, the President took the opportunity to have a lively and interactive exchange with young people from around the world. Besides climate change, they discussed the work of the General Assembly, migration and sustainable development. The President urged the youth participants to be engaged and demanding and to ensure that their voices were heard in both the national and multilateral spheres. He invited them to take part, not only in his youth initiatives, but in all meetings organised by his office during the 72^nd?session.

?The Bonn Conference is taking place one year after the entry into force of the Paris Climate Agreement. The Agreement, which was adopted by 196 Parties to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵFCCC, calls on countries to combat climate change by limiting the rise of global temperature below 2 degrees Celsius and striving not to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius. To date, 170 Parties have ratified the Agreement.

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Katharina Kandt, Communications Adviser to the President of the General Assembly,?Kandt@un.org, +1 917-244-3890