The Secretary-General welcomes the pledges of up to US$9.3 billion made by Governments towards the initial capitalisation of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) at the Berlin Pledging Conference. These pledges go far to kick-start the operationalisation of the Fund, and follow on the heels of other significant climate actions such as the US-China joint announcement and the decision by the European Union as well as positive commitments reaffirmed by other leaders in recent meetings including at the G20 and the September Climate Summit.

These developments demonstrate that Governments increasingly understand both the benefits derived from climate action and the growing risks of delay. It also provides much needed public finance which is key to unlocking investments at a much larger scale from private sources.

The Secretary-General underscores the importance of climate finance for securing a meaningful, universal climate agreement in Paris in 2015 and for catalysing action on the ground. He urges all developed countries that have not yet pledged to the GCF to do so by COP 20 in Lima. He also encourages those developing countries that are in a position to do so, to consider making voluntary contributions to the Fund in Lima.