Minister Kowalczyk,Excellencies,Distinguished Delegates,Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to join you today and to address this important event on “Promoting synergies between the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030, the Paris Agreement and the SDGs.”
One of the crucial roles of the United Nations is to bring countries together to address global challenges. The sustainability of our planet is one such challenge in the face of the ever-increasing impacts of climate change. We must address this challenge without any further delay.
Indeed, climate change is already upon us with devastating consequences for local communities. We are seeing a higher frequency of natural disasters, hurricanes, forest fires, droughts, floods, heatwaves, melting glaciers and seal level rise.
The only way we will find solutions to mitigate, adapt and build resilience, is by acting together.
The three international instruments, the UN Strategic Plan for Forests, the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, provide an interlocking framework for international cooperation to safeguard forests, fight climate change and secure a sustainable future for people and our planet.
Forests are central in developing solutions both to mitigate and adapt to climate change. These terrestrial ecosystems have already removed nearly one third of human-produced carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere. Through sustainable forest management, they could remove much more.
Based on both scientific and economic analysis, forests and sustainable agriculture together could get us at least a quarter of the way to meeting the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting the global increase in temperature to 1.5°C.
Covering 30 per cent of all the land on our planet, forests contribute to the livelihoods of over a fifth of the world’s population.
They represent a safety net for both rural and urban poor, by providing them with goods and services. These include– water, food, medicine, construction materials, and jobs. Forests and the solutions they offer are thus critical to accelerating achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and addressing climate change.
Excellencies,
Since 2015, the United Nations Forum on Forests has made consistent efforts to elevate the significance of forests in the global policy agenda. The Forum continues to promote implementation of the 2030 Agenda through forest action.
In May 2015, the Forum strengthened and extended the international arrangement on forests through 2030, and embarked on the development of a Strategic Plan for forests.
As a result, the first ever United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2030 was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in April 2017.
The Strategic Plan provides a framework for forest-related contributions to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Paris Agreement.
Through its six Global Forest Goals and 26 targets, the Strategic Plan serves as a global action framework for sustainable forest management across the United Nations System and beyond.
I am keenly aware that to achieve these global goals and targets, we will need to enhance our support to meet the capacity building needs of developing countries.
The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) is working to enhance our support to Member States to strengthen capacities to tackle climate change and to implement the 2030 Agenda as a whole.
When it comes to forests, the achievements of the Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network (GFFFN) which is managed by DESA’s UNFF Secretariat, are truly noteworthy.
In just 3 years, the Network has partnered with 19 countries, trained close to 500 representatives of government, civil society and the private sector. The Network is working to mobilize forest finance and national forest financing strategies. And, it is preparing proposals for development of projects on sustainable forest management.
The Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) has played an essential role in supporting the implementation of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030 and in the work of the GFFFN.
Today we are joined at this event by several of the partners from the CPF who will share their experiences on working to support sustainable forest management and mitigate and adapt to climate change.
From my side, DESA remains strongly committed to supporting the implementation of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030, the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda. We stand ready to lend our full support in partnership with other UN entities, Member States and business and civil society stakeholders.
I look forward to your innovative ideas and guidance on how we can work together to strengthen sustainable forest management and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Forest-based actions are essential for a carbon positive future and bringing about a healthy planet for us all.
Thank you.
It is my pleasure to join you today and to address this important event on “Promoting synergies between the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030, the Paris Agreement and the SDGs.”
One of the crucial roles of the United Nations is to bring countries together to address global challenges. The sustainability of our planet is one such challenge in the face of the ever-increasing impacts of climate change. We must address this challenge without any further delay.
Indeed, climate change is already upon us with devastating consequences for local communities. We are seeing a higher frequency of natural disasters, hurricanes, forest fires, droughts, floods, heatwaves, melting glaciers and seal level rise.
The only way we will find solutions to mitigate, adapt and build resilience, is by acting together.
The three international instruments, the UN Strategic Plan for Forests, the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, provide an interlocking framework for international cooperation to safeguard forests, fight climate change and secure a sustainable future for people and our planet.
Forests are central in developing solutions both to mitigate and adapt to climate change. These terrestrial ecosystems have already removed nearly one third of human-produced carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere. Through sustainable forest management, they could remove much more.
Based on both scientific and economic analysis, forests and sustainable agriculture together could get us at least a quarter of the way to meeting the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting the global increase in temperature to 1.5°C.
Covering 30 per cent of all the land on our planet, forests contribute to the livelihoods of over a fifth of the world’s population.
They represent a safety net for both rural and urban poor, by providing them with goods and services. These include– water, food, medicine, construction materials, and jobs. Forests and the solutions they offer are thus critical to accelerating achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and addressing climate change.
Excellencies,
Since 2015, the United Nations Forum on Forests has made consistent efforts to elevate the significance of forests in the global policy agenda. The Forum continues to promote implementation of the 2030 Agenda through forest action.
In May 2015, the Forum strengthened and extended the international arrangement on forests through 2030, and embarked on the development of a Strategic Plan for forests.
As a result, the first ever United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2030 was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in April 2017.
The Strategic Plan provides a framework for forest-related contributions to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Paris Agreement.
Through its six Global Forest Goals and 26 targets, the Strategic Plan serves as a global action framework for sustainable forest management across the United Nations System and beyond.
I am keenly aware that to achieve these global goals and targets, we will need to enhance our support to meet the capacity building needs of developing countries.
The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) is working to enhance our support to Member States to strengthen capacities to tackle climate change and to implement the 2030 Agenda as a whole.
When it comes to forests, the achievements of the Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network (GFFFN) which is managed by DESA’s UNFF Secretariat, are truly noteworthy.
In just 3 years, the Network has partnered with 19 countries, trained close to 500 representatives of government, civil society and the private sector. The Network is working to mobilize forest finance and national forest financing strategies. And, it is preparing proposals for development of projects on sustainable forest management.
The Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) has played an essential role in supporting the implementation of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030 and in the work of the GFFFN.
Today we are joined at this event by several of the partners from the CPF who will share their experiences on working to support sustainable forest management and mitigate and adapt to climate change.
From my side, DESA remains strongly committed to supporting the implementation of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030, the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda. We stand ready to lend our full support in partnership with other UN entities, Member States and business and civil society stakeholders.
I look forward to your innovative ideas and guidance on how we can work together to strengthen sustainable forest management and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Forest-based actions are essential for a carbon positive future and bringing about a healthy planet for us all.
Thank you.
File date:
Tuesday, December 4, 2018