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1. Remarks at the IDFC meeting Paris 31 March 2015
Janos Pasztor
Assistant Secretary-General on Climate Change, United Nations
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am very pleased to be with you at the Opening of this Forum.
I would like to express my thanks to the Agence Française de Développement – and the International
Development Finance Club as whole – for convening this important meeting. It is both timely and
necessary that you are gathered here today, for you and your colleagues hold the key to unlocking one
of the most challenging issues in the global climate negotiations: finance.
At the end of this year, governments of the world will gather in Paris seeking to adopt a new,
meaningful and universal climate change agreement. Your task here is nothing less than to help define
the climate finance road map that will support such an agreement. Many of you are aware of the
grave risks that climate change poses to economies, industries and individuals. Some of you
participated in the Climate Summit last September, which the UN Secretary-General convened. And
some of you are also aware that in reducing global greenhouse emissions and investing in a more
climate resilient society, we will be doing the right thing – as well as the smart thing – for a more
liveable, prosperous future for us all.
That future begins here today.
The UN Secretary-General has called climate change the ‘defining issue of our time’. Indeed, climate
change affects every aspect of our lives, from the air we breathe and the food we eat, to the
infrastructure investments and energy sources that power economic development.
Finance – both public and private - is central to the climate change negotiations for at least two
reasons. First, public funds are critical for building political trust between developed and developing
countries. Second, finance is essential for catalysing actions on the ground that will limit emissions
and strengthen resilience, while also driving economic growth.
The impressive number of representatives in this room can be a significant part of the solution. You
can use your institutions to leverage much larger private finances. The UN Secretary-General trusts
you are here today to be leaders and solution-makers in meeting the defining challenge of our time.
Let me begin by saying a few words on the climate negotiations. Following this, I will outline the UN
Secretary-General’s strategy on climate finance, which will elucidate your role as solution-makers.
Climate Negotiations
Global climate negotiations are never easy. This year is no exception. The good news is that the
process is on track and negotiators now have a draft text of a possible agreement, which will be taken
up in numerous informal and formal negation meetings this year. That said, major challenges remain,
including on the issue of climate finance.
The UN Secretary-General will continue to play an important role in helping to resolve these issues
through his engagement with world leaders. He is also actively using the powers of his office to help
countries find common ground.
We must not forget that our ultimate objective is to put the world on a pathway that keeps global
average temperature rise under 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Beyond this level
irreversible impacts are expected, and therefore the political consensus is to aim to stay below 2

2. degrees Celsius. Right now, if the status quo does not fundamentally change, the world is headed for
more than 4 degrees temperature rise.
Clearly, there is a scientific urgency for reaching a meaningful global agreement. But there is also an
urgent need for the financing, investments, regulatory changes, and other economic drivers needed to
shift capital in a low-carbon direction if we are to keep below the 2 degree threshold.
The UN Secretary-General thus sees an agreement in Paris and actions taken outside the negotiations,
for example, investment flows into low-carbon development, as mutually reinforcing. Climate action
is a complement to a Paris agreement, not a substitute for it.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me now turn to the UN Secretary-General’s strategy on climate finance, which of course is linked
to the financing of the overall post-2015 development framework and the Sustainable Development
Goals. But now, I will focus on climate Finance.
The Climate Summit he convened last September was the opening act in this strategy. It was also a
pivotal moment for key financial actors, many of whom have never engaged with the UN before, but
are realizing the risks inherent in high carbon, fossil fuel investments, and the benefits and
opportunities provided by low carbon, resilient growth. The Summit brought together an entire eco-
system of finance actors across the value chain that has helped to promote cooperation and forge
synergies between key actors in the public and private sectors.
At the Summit, the private sector announced commitments that involved more than $US200 billion of
financial assets by the end of 2015 -- vastly expanding the opportunities for profitable investments
that provide social benefits and strengthen climate resilience around the world.
These pledges must be delivered before Paris.
Looking ahead, the Secretary General is keen to ensure that Paris becomes a watershed in mobilizing
climate finance by delivering on five essential elements:
1. Developed countries need to provide politically credible pathways for mobilizing the US $100
billion per annum by 2020;
2. The Green Climate Fund must be in a position to approve projects and disburse funds as soon as
possible to developing countries before Paris;
3. Significant political and economic support is mobilized for the economic drivers of low-carbon
growth;
4. Private sector finance commitments announced at the Climate Summit are delivered and new
commitments are mobilized;
5. A comprehensive finance package for the LDCs and SIDs is outlined that would support to low-
carbon, sustainable development.
In sum, if achieved, these five elements could provide a crucial catalyst for the trillions of dollars that
are potentially stranded in the high-carbon world to invest in low-carbon alternatives.
This is a very difficult but worthy challenge, but the UN Secretary-General believes it is within reach.
That is why we are gathered here today. Each of you, in your own respective capacities, has a role to
play.
Coordination is critical to ensure that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and that each
element delivers at Paris.

3. As a trusted convener, the UN Secretary-General is willing to serve in this coordination role,
alongside the Presidents of the Multilateral Development Banks and other financing mechanisms.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Let’s unpack each of these five elements a bit further.
First, the US $ 100 Billion:
Forging a US $ 100 Billion pathway is feasible. Several instruments can contribute: direct budget
support, carbon pricing, elimination of subsidies, as well as debt-instruments such as Green Bonds
and development financing.
Reflecting the political requirements of the negotiations process, this should not be an accounting
exercise, but rather the actual mobilization of funds. Developing countries see the $100 billion as a
critical litmus test of trust for the promises made by developed countries.
There should be a rough division between public funding and other sources of funding that may
comprise this pathway.
Lastly, we should be cautious about projecting numbers resulting from leveraging ratios that might be
questioned by developing countries.
I look forward to the results of your work in this area today.
Second, the Green Climate Fund:
The Green Climate Fund has made tremendous progress since it was launched in Durban two years
ago. It has received pledges of US $ 10.2 billion during September –December 2015.
The March meeting of the GCF Board was able to accredit seven implementing entities that will be
able to channel the Fund’s resources into developing countries.
We now need to ensure that half of the pledged resources are made available by July of this year. This
will enable the GCF to allocate resources towards project and programmes, especially towards the
LDCs and SIDs. So far, only 1% of the 10.2 billion has become available.
Third, Private Sector commitments:
We must ensure that commitments made at the Summit are implemented and;
Above all, we need to look at how these commitments might contribute to the US $ 100 billion
trajectory. It will hence be necessary that a substantial amount of these private sector funds flow from
North-South, and benefit developing country needs.
Fourth, Economic drivers:
The private sector’s willingness to undertake action on climate change hinges on governments and
regulators coming forward to address climate risk and economic opportunity. These include:
 Provision of low carbon incentives;
 Rationalization or scaling back of subsidies that incentivize high-carbon energy;
 Progress on carbon pricing;
 Changes in domestic regulations that prevent climate risk valuation especially for the
insurance sector;
 Increased energy efficiency standards;
 Policy regimes on energy, industry and trade for incentivizing an early transition to a low
carbon future

4. FIFTH: A Finance Package for LDCs and SIDs
The challenges facing these countries are extensive – ranging from limited capacity, small economies,
and weak private sectors and financial markets. They are heavily dependent on ODA and international
public funds.
Accordingly, a package for LDCs and SIDs should address the larger sustainable development
challenge and the additionality that climate change imposes on their development prospects.
Moreover, this package must be a part of the larger climate finance framework that the Paris COP
should deliver this year.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
You represent important financial players in the world.
The world needs you to show bold leadership in moving toward a low-carbon, climate resilient global
economy. The economic case for action is compelling. The risks of inaction are frightening to
contemplate and will affect each of us as well as succeeding generations.
The office of the UN Secretary-General will work with you and the Government of France to ensure
that Paris becomes a watershed for mobilizing climate finance and delivering on both the
commitments that you have made previously, and the expectations we share for a safer, healthier and
more prosperous future.
For today, I wish you all the best in the hard work ahead in developing joint tracking and reporting
methodologies on climate finance flows, to find ways to show what instruments and incentives could
drive private capital towards the developing countries, where it is most needed for both development
and climate actions.
I thank you for your attention