UN RC opening speech at the pre-COP26 Serbia Climate Talks

Dobro jutro svima, dobrodošli u kuću UN

a warm welcome to our distinguished guests, and to all the colleagues online

I would like to thank the Ministry of environment and UNDP team for organizing today’s climate talks, with such a rich and meaningful agenda. It is great to see the diversity of institutions represented, and of course, I am happy to know that multiple UN agencies will contribute with their perspective on CC.

1. let me position the talks today in the global scene:

This event is perfectly timed as the UN General assembly started yesterday in New York, a day after the Climate roundtable, and a few weeks ahead of COP26. The climate roundtable was co-organized by the Secretary-General and the Prime Minister of the UK, with participation of a few heads of state.

The SG called on Member States to deliver on 3 fronts: 1) keep the 1.5-degree goal within reach, 2) deliver on the promised $100 billion a year for climate action in developing countries, and 3) scale up funding for adaptation to at least 50% of total public climate finance expenditure.

The SG also singled out one specific energy challenge; the continued use of carbon-emitting coal. OECD nations need to end coal use by 2030 and other nations need by 2040.

We need a 45% cut in emissions by 2030. We need more ambition from all countries in three key areas — mitigation (emission cuts), finance (mobilizing the resources of both international financial institutions and the private sector, converging towards the climate goal, across the economic sectors) and adaptation (building resilience to save lives and livelihoods and preserve the planet).

Today, we are here to discuss what we can do here in Serbia, to create the conditions for success in Glasgow and beyond.

2. Serbia, with 7/8 million people has the perfect size to trailblaze such transformation. much progress has been made in climate change policy and legislative activities in the past year. This was coupled with an increased ambition of reducing emissions by 33.3% compared to 1990 levels, presented at the Climate Ambition Summit 2020. Given the size of the country, population, and economic resilience, Serbia could consider raising its climate ambition even further and match the net zero global ambition of COP26. Decarbonization that spurs technological, social and governance innovation and investments, should be seen as one of the greatest economic opportunities of our time. It would also place Serbia on a trajectory towards greener investments and a more prosperous future, acting as a flagship for the region.

I have been in Serbia for almost 2 years now, and I can see a real change in how the country leadership addresses climate change and the broader green transformation, including through the ministry present today. We are now moving the narrative from threats to opportunities and actions.

3. We need a roadmap, beyond the laws and policies, where institutions, the private sector and citizens become agents of change. This is actually a powerful and exciting agenda that can bring the best out of the citizens, the youth, if we manage it meaningfully, with ambition, and as a vehicle for progress, inclusiveness and wealth creation. We need to turn the energy and interest generated by the environment uprising into a platform of action for the youth. And we need to communicate a lot more and a lot better about what this group and many others do about climate change. There are youth reps in the panels today, and I hope they will share their thoughts. I also think we have to work with the media differently, so that cc is not featured only as something bringing pain and tensions.

4. at the UN, we are particularly mindful of the leave no one behind principle of agenda 2030. The poorest and most vulnerable are often hardest hit, and this is also true in Serbia. There is a need to develop special solutions to ensure that vulnerable groups benefit from all future investments and become full actor of transformative changes when it comes to climate action. While we start developing new technologies and financing schemes, we must carve options for the poorer neighbourhood, those who may lose jobs in energy transition, those with no skills, and for whom the transition may be expensive. On that, we support the recent formation of the National Coalition for the Reduction of Energy Poverty under min of energy, which include an important focus on the gender aspects.

5. my last point is on cooperation. I believe that we need more of this “working and deliver together” – the local version of Multilaterism - with greater cohesion, collaboration, commitment and transparency, We aim to promote genuine, comprehensive cooperation across the government, the development partners and financing institutions, the civil society and private sector, and the UN. We need a convergence of actions beyond a compilation of projects.

As a conclusion: The UN will continue to support the country to implement its ambitions for carbon reduction and green transformation, through multiple tools, to help design, build, produce, educate, legislate into a new future.

I hope that we can continue the practice of climate talks with multiple constituencies, share and expand good practices and expectations. And since this is a national agenda, I hope that the next of such dialog can take place at the palace of Serbia, to bring full visibility to the issue.