Activities of Secretary-General in France, 12 December

United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres arrived in Paris from New York early on Tuesday morning, 12 December, to attend the One Planet Summit.

He joined World Bank President Jim Yong Kim for a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron of France.  The three leaders co‑hosted the day’s event.

Following an official lunch, the Secretary‑General and other world leaders attending the summit travelled by barge up the Seine to the site of the conference on an island on the river, just outside of Paris.

In opening remarks to the high‑level session, Mr. Guterres delivered a blunt assessment:  “We are not yet winning the war on climate change.”  (See Press Release SG/SM/18824).

He underscored the benefits of investing in a green economy.  Investments are already paying off, as new industries, new markets and more jobs are being created by renewable energies.

The Secretary‑General appealed for greater investments by Governments into the Green Climate Fund, and called on wealthy countries to honour the pledge made in Paris two years ago to provide $100 billion a year to developing countries to meet the needs of climate mitigation and adaptation.

He also stressed the role of private capital investments, as Governments cannot do this alone.  It is a simple matter of climate justice that developed countries support developing countries to address a problem that they had no role in creating, he told the attendees.

The Secretary‑General also participated in sessions on resilience and adaptation.  On the sidelines of the conference, the Secretary‑General met with his Special Envoy on Cities and Climate Change, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and California Governor Jerry Brown.

The Secretary‑General also appeared in a Facebook live conversation.

The Secretary‑General left Paris for Tokyo on Tuesday evening.