Ambassador Nebojša Kaluđerović, Permanent Representative of Montenegro to the United Nations (Address at the International Conference on Climate change and Sustainable Development in the Mediterranean Region and South-Eastern Europe, Budva, Montenegro, 16-17 October 2009)

We came from threats and hypotheses to reality. The climate change has grave consequences that will be felt all over the world. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It is a fact. With that fact comes a responsibility of all of us to act, to rely not only on our ambitious local or national efforts, but also to solicit regional and international support.

By gathering here we are clearly demonstrating that a common approach is the right response and that regionally we are fully aware that there is a necessity, an obligation to generate political and public support for addressing current pressing environmental problems. It is high time for multilateralism and collective action of all leaders from all sectors of society.

The urgency of this matter is irrefutable. We have heard about the unprecedented impacts if we remain idle – climate change threatens not only livelihoods, but also lives of the vast majority of the world population.

Hard earned gains on the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed development goals are under threat of reversal. Developing countries, Small Island Developing States and virtually all regions, especially our own, are feeling the most severe effects.

Desertification, drought, floods, natural disasters, spread of disease are already taking place at the most critical levels. Pressure on natural resources, on water, food and land, reached alarming limits. All of this taken together will undoubtedly have the most severe impacts on peace and security, since it has the potential to destabilize fragile political, economic, cultural and social equilibrium.

As the Ambassador to the United Nations I can assure you that we thoroughly discuss the climate change challenges. Accent on the thoroughly. Even though we are sometimes accused of inaction, we rely on the wisdom and collaboration of our fellow members and are certain that by openly debating the current issues we will reach a common ground that takes into consideration the needs of all nations, especially the poor and most vulnerable ones.

As you all know, the leading role of the UN in promoting coordinated action is undeniable. Besides its many programmes, funds, and forums that focus on climate change, environmental protection and sustainable development, there are UN-wide initiatives aimed at providing macroeconomic evidence for the benefits that green growth can bring to the environmental, economic and social sectors.

One of these, which received popular following in the midst of economic and financial crisis, is the “Global Green New Deal” that encourages active engagement of all its partners in revving the global economy and boosting employment while simultaneously accelerating the fight against climate change, environmental degradation and poverty.

Just this past September, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) organized Climate Week – a whirlwind of events in over 100 cities. Part of that was the Summit on Climate Change, held on 22nd of September in New York, the largest gathering of world leaders on this issue. In parallel, the UN held the Summit of the business leaders that are committed to contributing to the international efforts necessary to reach the successful post-2012 climate framework.

The Summit sent a clear message that the comprehensive deal in Copenhagen needs to ensure:

 Enhanced action to assist the most vulnerable and the poorest to adapt to the impacts of climate change;

 Ambitious emission reduction targets for industrialized countries;

 Nationally-appropriate mitigation actions by developing countries with the necessary support;

 Significantly scaled-up financial and technological resources; and

 An equitable governance structure.

Significant resources and leadership are required to ensure effective adaptation and mitigation measures to combat climate change. Developed countries need to take the lead in reducing greenhouse emissions (including those stemming from deforestation, shipping and aviation), in pushing towards the low-carbon economy, as well as in reshaping and refocusing policies, investments and spending towards clean technologies, renewable energies, sustainable agriculture and forests, innovative methods and green growth.

International Energy Agency (IEA) last week released its finding at climate talks in Bangkok, highlighting that the global recession provides a window of opportunity to curb climate change and build low-carbon future because of the estimated fall of the greenhouse gas emissions by 3% this year.

The calls for Global Green New Deal urged G-20 countries to invest 1% of their stimulus packages towards building a green economy – one that reduces carbon dependency, addresses poverty, generates decent jobs, maintains and restores our natural ecosystems, and moves towards sustainable consumption.

Developing countries and emerging economies, led by the common but differentiated responsibility, have their role to play, as well – by limiting the growth of their emissions and by introducing energy efficiency into their development strategies.

New, additional and predictable financial sources, including technology transfer and capacity building, are required to help developing countries deal with climate change challenges. This is where private sources of funding can be tapped into.

In addition, transparent, inclusive, efficient and effective institutional arrangements and governance structures that include developing countries and take into consideration their priorities need to be incorporated into the Copenhagen deal.

But how far did we come in ensuring this will be achieved?

UN Summit helped deliver political impetus and more comprehensive approach to the issues of climate change by involving the world leaders and by putting adaptation to the middle of the table, once again. Moreover, there were extraordinary announcements made, including Japan’s commitment to 25% reduction target by 2020, its resolve to create a carbon market that will be linked to the global carbon market, China’s declaration that it is ready to do more in the context of negotiated agreements on energy, and EU’s support to the fast-track funding facility and offer of 5-7 billion EUR to get this started.

In spite of this, the progress is far too slow. During the negotiations in Bangkok last week there were deep discussions on full range of topics, but difficulties still persist and key issues remain wide open.

The main concern is that we are backtracking to fundamental debate, while there is simply no time for getting into every last detail.

Among the unresolved crucial issues are mitigation and mitigation commitments. Further leadership has been shown by Norway who pledged to reduce domestic emission targets from previous 30% to 40% by 2020. There is concern that key countries are still not demonstrating required initiative in this field. If nations do not reduce emissions individually, they will not be able to do it collectively. Simple as that.

The needs of science in this regard are 25-40% for industrialized countries and we are nowhere near that point with current reduction commitments revolving around 11-18%, as you are well aware.

Another major outstanding issue is the question of financing, which is the glue that will help knit together any agreement and an essential requirement to produce results on the ground. In New York during the Summit the leaders started talking in more concrete terms and this needs to take on increasing urgency.

The fear now is that there is a danger in slipping back into old bad habits and returning to the original positions. We made a lot of progress as a collective of 192 countries in moving forward, especially on what we mean by common but differentiated responsibility. At this point we all need to put major effort in building trust in order to be able to advance and reach consensus.

This discussion seems sobering, perhaps, but the fact is that we have a lot of work to do. The top political actors are engaged and are continuing to emphasize their commitment to achieving the deal in Copenhagen, which clearly shows the urgency of the matter and the dedication of all regions, economies and countries facing different geographic challenges to finding a common solution.

Even though there is no clear formula yet on how to keep the leaders engaged, the Secretary-General has been putting climate change on every step of every trip and his Envoys have remained very active.

The political momentum leading towards the Copenhagen in December is clearly growing. And that momentum needs to be fully utilized.

There is only 51 days until the Conference and only 5 negotiation days left. Progress must be accelerated. As the Mediterranean region we need to do our part. We need to take bold steps that are in-line with the progress that is already taking place. We need to join the commitment of the European Union and Japan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020 and thus ensure that the rise in average global temperature does not exceed 2C above pre-industrial levels.

We need to remain fully engaged and active in the negotiation process that should lead to ambitious, effective and fair agreement in Copenhagen. We need to seal the deal,

Thank you.