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It is a great honour to be here.

I thank President Peña Nieto and the Government and people of Mexico for hosting this important meeting.

Two years ago, many of us met in Busan and expressed a strong collective commitment to work better together to reduce poverty and meet the Millennium Development Goals.

Since then, we have made important progress. But we have not done enough.

The UN climate change negotiations in Cancun, Mexico, have delivered important success for a world much in need of it. Governments came together in common cause, for the common good, and agreed on a way forward to meet the defining challenge of our time.

Prime Minister Meles,
Prime Minister Stoltenberg,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Climate financing is one of the most important aspects of our efforts to address the climate change challenge.

It is not a panacea for the climate problem, but it is crucial to have adequate financial support for developing countries and for building trust between countries.

And it is essential for generating actions on the ground.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to see so many partners working in common cause to protect the world''s tropical forests.

We are here in Cancun to make progress on all fronts in the climate negotiations.

At the same time, we need to dramatically increase actions that will help to prevent runaway climate change and strengthen climate resilience.

That is why it is essential that we do all we can to support the REDD-Plus initiative – Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation.

As you know, when I became Secretary-General, I made climate change one of my top priorities. The reason is simple.

Climate change affects everything the UN does – poverty, peace and security, development, and human rights.

We cannot sustain gains toward our Millennium Development Goals or preserve the ecosystems that sustain us, we cannot ensure safety and stability for the poor and vulnerable without progress on climate change.