Toespraak van minister Ploumen bij de Green Climate Fund Board

Toespraak | 20-01-2015

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to congratulate you on the achievements of the Board so far. You managed to get the Green Climate Fund ready in time for the climate summit in Lima, last December. In that important last meeting before the final summit in Paris, your Fund took centre stage. Pledges of over 10 billion dollars underline the commitment of parties to make the Fund and the climate negotiations a success.

The next step is agreement on how to spend this money in a way that most benefits the global community. The stakes are huge. That should go without saying. But we aren’t there yet and the process is challenging. It’s easy to lose sight of what it’s all about. So let me once more underline the Fund’s significance.

If you – the members of the Green Climate Fund Board – succeed, the fund could make an enormous difference to the lives of millions of people. And you could significantly influence the quality of life of hundreds of millions more.

Because if you succeed, we may get a grip on the effects of climate change in the Great Lakes region of Africa, to name but one example. We may be able to stem and prevent further flooding, drought and erosion in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern DRC. This could relieve pressure on land use and food production around the world.

And if you succeed, our chances of reducing greenhouse gases, exploiting new energy sources and recycling techniques worldwide would be greatly improved. In other words: your work can make the world a full shade greener than it is today.

So there’s a lot riding on your success. How can we make it happen? Allow me to offer you three points of advice and encouragement.

One – and this may sound odd coming from a politician: stay away from politics as long as possible. Setting a practical agenda in a political setting is tough. Up to now you have done a great job. You are focusing on the organisation of the Fund. It has to be up and running as soon as possible. So keep up the good work!

Two: innovate. Ten billion dollars in new pledges demands a new framework to manage these funds. Today’s environmental challenges affect us all and are too complex for any government, organisation or company to solve on its own. Working together is the only option. The Green Climate Fund should make climate spending more effective, create synergy with other funds and mobilise private funding.

That’s why the Netherlands is a strong supporter of the private sector window in the Green Climate Fund. And that’s why we hope the Fund will develop into a creative and flexible facilitator of investment in a greener economy, with a range of instruments like grants, loans and guarantees.

We’ve seen examples of private sector involvement of this kind. The Dutch development bank FMO and Dutch entrepreneurs were closely involved in the Lake Turkana Wind Farm in Kenya, the largest wind park in Africa. This is a success story that could be copied elsewhere. We’re making great efforts to mobilise Dutch private-sector know-how for adaptation. Take our work in Bangladesh in strengthening sea dikes, and our cooperation with Vietnam in managing the Mekong Delta.

In situations like these the business case is pretty clear and there’s a good chance of success. But here I come to my third point – more of an appeal really. Don’t shy away from the more difficult missions. Climate finance is part of the international effort to make the transition towards a sustainable economy. The effectiveness of a dollar spent on transition shouldn’t only be measured by how much CO2 it reduces. We also need to make sure that dollar is spent in a context where it has the most impact.

I urge you, in your projects, to focus as much as possible on the poorest, wherever they live. Your decision to devote half of the fund’s spending to adaptation and half of that to LDCs and Small Islands is a good start. I also call on you to focus on women, especially poor women. Their specific roles and responsibilities make them more dependent on natural resources than men. They are not helpless victims, however, but the potential agents of change. We have to mobilise that potential. Every dollar spent on that will prove well spent.

Climate change is about more than a change in the climate. It’s about changing the way we live and work together. What you’re doing is vital. So keep up the good work!

Thank you.