Your Excellency, Marie Charlotte, Vice Chair of the Committee of Permanent Representatives,
Ambassadors and colleagues. Welcome to the 175th meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR).
Todays meeting coincides with the celebration of World Ozone Day, under the theme of Global Action for a Cooler Planet. As you know, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is one of the biggest successes of the environmental movement.
This agreement has put the ozone layer on the path to recovery, protecting millions of lives and vital ecosystems from harmful ultraviolet radiation. But the Montreal Protocol is also a powerful climate agreement. The ozone-depleting gases it targeted also warmed the climate. The world is cooler today than it would have been without the Montreal Protocol.
But as global temperature rise is set to exceed the 1.5C target of the Paris Agreement, we need to seek more solutions that cut emissions and bring temperatures down faster. The Protocols Kigali Amendment, in its tenth year, can help to do just that. If fully implemented, this could avoid up to 0.5C of global warming by the end of the century. If we combine the transition away from hydrofluorocarbons with energy-efficient cooling, we could double these gains. So, I call on all Member States that have not yet done so to ratify the Kigali Amendment without delay.
The Kigali Amendment, of course, cannot carry the full weight of environmental action. We need to do so much more to stabilize the climate and protect nature.
We made important progress at COP17 of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where the world came together to tackle land degradation, drought and desertification under the theme, Restoring Land, Restoring Hope.
As I shared in greater detail last week at the Annual Subcommittee, while this progress is welcome, it is clear much more is needed to tackle drought, finance and implementation of agreed goals. This COP sought to place a clear focus on drought, particularly in Africa, however parties agreed to continue deliberations on how best to tackle this at COP18. Progress was secured on tackling Sand and Dust Storms and safeguarding rangelands, as well as a growing recognition of how healthy land is connected to peace, security and migration. Overall, COP17 reinforced the importance of UNEP supporting progress across science and anti-desertification, implementation, drought resilience and dryland management key areas within UNEPs Medium-Term Strategy.
Next week, I will go to the UN General Assembly and New York Climate Week. There, UNEP and I will be delivering important messages from the Limiting Overshoot report on the urgent need to increase efforts to limit peak temperatures, adapt to impacts that cannot be avoided and return to 1.5C by the end of the century.
One of UNEPs key messages will be the opportunities, both short-term and long-term, afforded by cutting emissions of methane in the fossil fuel, agriculture and waste sectors. Deploying available methane solutions, particularly in the fossil fuel sector, could avoid up to 0.2C of warming by 2050. This is why methane abatement is a major focus for UNEP, with UNEPs International Methane Emissions Observatory and the UNEP-convened Climate and Clean Air Coalition leading in this space.
UNEP will be taking similar messages to the climate COP31 in Antalya, Trkiye in November, which is focusing on accelerating implementation and practical solutions, backed by international cooperation. We at UNEP will be bringing the science from the Limiting Overshoot report complemented by the upcoming Adaptation Gap and Emissions Gap reports, which we look forward to briefing you on as the reports move towards completion.
Prior to the climate COP, we have the Convention on Biological Diversity COP17 in Yerevan, Armenia. Parties are expected to reach decisions on critical issues: finalizing reporting and monitoring frameworks; agreeing on equitable mechanisms for sharing benefits from DSI; agreeing on a strong financial mechanism; finalizing structures for the landmark Indigenous Peoples subsidiary body; and making progress on the protocols for biosafety and access and benefit sharing. We must also strive to raise more resources and invest in stronger capacities, particularly for least-developed countries, as we are not on track to meet targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Excellencies,
A strong UNEP will, of course, be essential to all these priorities. The thirteenth Annual Subcommittee meeting, held last week, helped to clarify the direction we must take to strengthen UNEP. Today, you will consider the draft Chairs summary of the subcommittee meeting, which covers a wide range of issues. But as I said at the closing, there were three clear takeaways.
One, we need continued reform and improvement at UNEP and the UN. UNEP has made great strides in this area, as you know, and will continue to do so including in consultation with Member States on the Secretary-Generals Information Brief on the UN80 Initiative Work Package 27, when it is released.
Two, we need a financially strong UNEP. A well-funded UNEP, with a robust Environment Fund, is an investment in solutions. Not just solutions to climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, land degradation, desertification and drought, and pollution and waste. But solutions for stronger economic growth, thriving job markets, energy security, national security, resilient infrastructure and more.
Three, we need a data-driven UNEP that delivers strong science and impact. UNEPs science already helps to drive the global agenda, as we saw with Limiting Overshoot this year, and have seen year after year with many other reports. But we are committed to better science, data and measurement including in how this organization measures the impact of the Medium-Term Strategy and Programme of Work.
So, Excellencies, let us work together in the coming months to take every opportunity to accelerate environmental action and strengthen UNEP as the leading global authority on the environment. Starting today, at this meeting of the CPR.
