ED remarks, Interactive Dialogue 4: The Future Starts Now: enhancing the global system for current and future generations

President of the General Assembly, Secretary General of the United Nations, Excellency Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica, Excellency Luc Mercelina, Prime Minister of Saint Martin, Kingdom of the Netherlands.

I will begin by celebrating the progress we have collectively achieved, as it's essential to build confidence that we can face the challenges ahead, particularly climate change, and that we can meet our collective goals.

We need to have this confidence, and we need to have hope.

It's important to remember that without the climate policies and actions taken since 2015, we would have already warmed by more than one degree Celsius compared to the present.

We know clean technologies are sweeping the globe.

In just seven years, countries have added nearly enough clean energy capacity to electrify the entire European Union.

We also know the cost of renewables is lower than ever.

Solar energy costs have dropped by 85%, wind energy by 55%, and lithium-ion batteries by 85%.

So, it’s important to celebrate progress, and it’s important to have hope.

But, of course, as we all know, this progress, hard-won as it is, isn’t moving fast enough.

The science continues to tell us that.

In fact, since 2016, annual investments across the entire energy sector in developing and emerging markets have dropped by approximately 20%.

So, we are moving in the wrong direction.

The development gains of recent years are being threatened by compounding crises: armed conflicts, debt distress, and uneven recoveries from COVID-19.

We are at a critical moment, and this Summit of the Future is where we need to raise our collective ambition and deliver.

We must face the truth that the Prime Minister of Jamaica also mentioned: institutions built on 20th-century frameworks have not been able to adequately respond to 21st-century challenges.

We must embrace reform of the entire climate finance ecosystem, from multilateral development banks to climate funds, private sector, philanthropies, and civil society.

We need to fundamentally reform how we measure and assess risk, and how this influences a wide range of important decisions, particularly investment decisions.

Every part of the financial landscape must work together, and every part has a role to play.

All must have a seat at the table when decisions are being made because we either succeed together or fail together.

How is the Green Climate Fund doing its part?

We take our responsibility as the world's largest multilateral climate fund seriously, empowering a diverse network of partners.

We work with multilateral institutions, national, public, and private sector financial entities, NGOs, and beyond.

In the last nine years, we’ve committed USD 15 billion to support 130 developing countries, unlocking an additional USD 45 billion in investment.

We are among the few balancing finance for mitigation and adaptation.

Fifty percent of our resources are allocated to building resilience in the most vulnerable states, LDCs, and African states.

However, we know this level of investment falls far short of what’s required.

The pace of action, when measured against the rapidly closing window to meet the 1.5-degree target, is completely inadequate.

That’s why, one year ago, at the United Nations Climate Ambition Summit, we announced a roadmap for the Green Climate Fund to manage USD 50 billion by 2030, with maximum efficiency and impact.

This strategy focuses on four pillars: supporting the most vulnerable, mobilising private capital, streamlining systems, and shifting from individual projects to ambitious programs and partnerships.

We are making progress.

With the support of our Board, we have introduced a fit-for-purpose organizational structure because we are indeed talking about institutions that are fit for the 21st century's challenges.

We are developing a new framework for accrediting partners and moving swiftly to make processes faster and more streamlined.

We are keeping our promise to the most vulnerable, having doubled our funding for locally-led adaptation, and earmarked half a billion dollars for fragile and conflict-affected states.

We are also partnering directly with the private sector to mobilise more finance.

In the past 12 months, we have committed over USD 1.3 billion for private sector investments, unlocking a total value of USD 7.5 billion in market-shaping proposals that will transform how the private sector invests not just in mitigation but also in resilience in developing countries.

Colleagues, 2024 is being called the Year for Climate Finance.

But every year is, and every year will continue to be, until we address the scale and quality of the finance we deploy for climate action.

We have enough data to understand the scale of the challenge.

The evidence is overwhelming, and what we need now is clear leadership and action.

Let’s set clear, tangible targets and build focused partnerships that contribute to a cohesive, fit-for-purpose climate finance architecture.

Let’s come to the General Assembly and the COPs each year not to make new announcements, but to showcase real, measurable results.

We stand ready to be a partner in this journey, one that requires ambition, action, and results.

Thank you.