I am pleased to send greetings to the International Forum on Energy Transitions, jointly hosted by the government of China and IRENA, the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The opportunity to transform our global energy systems in the direction of cleaner, lower-carbon sources has arrived.  In September, at the United Nations, world leaders adopted the universal, ambitious and visionary 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  The Agenda – which includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals -- highlights the important role of sustainable energy for societies, economies and people’s well-being. 

Later this month, governments will meet in Paris to forge a collective response to climate change that can put the world on a pathway to limit global temperature rise to less than 2 degrees Celsius.  The transformation of the world’s energy systems is crucial for this goal.

Sustainable energy must be cleaner, accessible and affordable for all.  Coupled with enhanced energy efficiency, it is the path to a more prosperous and healthy future.  Countries that follow this route will become leaders in the 21st century economy and a model for developing countries.

The price of renewable energy sources is falling dramatically.  In many countries it has reached parity with fossil fuels.  Each year, the world uses more renewable electric power.  The installed capacity of wind and solar power in China ranks number one in the world today.  Wind power in China increased 80-fold in the last decade, and solar power increased 285 times.

As well as its domestic efforts, I applaud the action taken by China to support South-South cooperation and climate action in developing countries.  These initiatives can significantly contribute to lowering emissions, strengthening resilience and making sustainable energy for all a reality.

I encourage you to continue building the economy of tomorrow, today, through lower carbon, climate-resilient development powered by cleaner energy sources.  I also encourage you to continue to engage in multilateral efforts that can make the global energy transformation achievable and beneficial for all societies. 

I wish you a productive and successful meeting.