STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT UKHNAA KHURELSUKH AT THE WORLD LEADERS CLIMATE ACTION SUMMIT
His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan,
Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan for hosting the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, along with my best wishes for a successful summit and conference.
At a time when climate change is accelerating due to both natural forces and human actions, adversely impacting on sustainable development, livelihoods and human well-being worldwide, we need to strengthen our political leadership, collective efforts and activities.
The United Nations continues to warn us that the chance to meet the commitments under the Paris Agreement is gradually diminishing.
We must heed the words of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who emphasized it as “A canyon littered with broken promises, broken lives, and broken records. All of this signifies a failure of leadership, a betrayal of the vulnerable, and a massive missed opportunity.”
Hence, today, humanity should unite for our common future with shared goal of treating the Mother Nature with utmost compassion and respect, rather than subjugating her. And in order for every country to achieve more tangible results, it is necessary to strengthen NATIONAL CONSENSUS, COMMON POLICY, and MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING involving all social groups, including government, private sector, civil society.
If humankind does not take decisive actions to protect the Mother Earth, tackle the issues of climate change, land degradation and biodiversity loss, the planet will find her own way to survive regardless of our presence.
Harmonious coexistence with Mother Nature is the foundation of human existence, we should never forget that.
Particularly, owing to elevated debt levels, constrained domestic budgets and limited financial resources, developing countries and those vulnerable to climate change face with financial risks in successfully fulfilling their obligations and commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Therefore, I would like to emphasize that the world leaders need to take into consideration the priorities and needs of countries, especially developing countries, and support and adopt the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for climate finance at this 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will significantly increase climate finance.
In order to successfully fulfill its commitments under the Paris Agreement, Mongolia needs financing equal to approximately 50% of its GDP.
In this regard, to enhance financing and investment in renewable energy, green agriculture, and forestry, our country is undertaking a comprehensive reform aimed at improving the legal and business environment.
As such, within the framework of the “Billion Tree” national movement, Mongolia has expanded its international cooperation and investment, while establishing a permanent financing system for nature conservation called “Eternal Mongolia”.
Mr. President,
According to the study conducted by the UN-Women, if the global community fails to meet its climate change mitigation goals by 2050, it may push up to 160 million more women and girls into poverty and food insecurity may affect up to 240 million more women and girls.
Therefore, Mongolia successfully hosted the World Women’s Forum under the theme “Towards Green Future” in August this year and adopted the “Ulaanbaatar Declaration: Towards a Sustainable Future” calling the countries around the world to promote women’s participation and leadership in the fight against climate change.
Moreover, Mongolia is putting forward an initiative to establish a “Global Coalition on Sustainable Rangelands and Pastoralists for the Future”, at a time when climate change is detrimental impact on countries that rely on traditional pastoralism.
We believe that the countries of the world will support this initiative, which will enable us to increase investment and financing in over 100 countries with traditional pastoralism and to protect and improve the health and livelihood of about 500 million people.
I am confident that this initiative will contribute to the implementation of the resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly declaring of the International Year of Cooperatives in 2025 and the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists in 2026, as well as to the preparation to host the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Ulaanbaatar in 2026.
Furthermore, Mongolia fully supports the collective efforts of the international community to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and enhance carbon sinks, and reaffirms its commitments to fulfilling its obligations under the Paris Agreement.
May the Eternal Blue Sky bless the humanity forever! May the world be at peace!
I thank you for your attention.