New York, 29 June 2015 - United Nations Environment Programme Executive Director Achim Steiner participated in a high-level event on climate change Monday, at the United Nations Headquarters, in New York City, convened by the President of the General Assembly, Mr. Sam Kutesa.
The opening session saw remarks by the President of the General Assembly, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Minister of the Environment of Peru Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, Foreign Minister of France Laurent Fabius and Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Connecting the issues of environment and sustainability, the Secretary General noted that, "Development cannot be sustainable unless we address the problems of climate change." This was followed by remarks from other speakers emphasizing the need for concrete action in the face of climate change, in particular the signing of a climate agreement in Paris this year in December, at COP21.
Executive Director Steiner then moderated a panel with Ministers from Egypt, Maldives and Brazil, China's Special Representative on Climate Change and the EU's Commissioner in charge of energy and climate, discussing what governments can, and are doing, to mobilize political momentum to implement ambitious actions on climate change mitigation and adaption.
Mr. Steiner also held bilateral meetings with Minister of Environment of Peru Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, Minister of Environment and Energy of Maldives Thoriq Ibrahim, Minister of Environment, Territorial Planning and Energy of Portugal Jorge Silva and Minister for International Development Cooperation of Sweden Isabella Lövin.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Quote by Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director
"2015 is the year when we can truly ensure we are on a path to a world that does not warm more than 2 degrees. This is a year when the international community can either come together or fall into disarray on climate change. This is a year we can change the course of history for the better."
