Toespraak minister-president Mark Rutte tijdens VN Klimaatconferentie COP24 in Katowice, Polen

Toespraak | 03-12-2018

Ladies and gentlemen,

Three years ago, the world set out the principles of an effective global climate policy for the 21st century.
In Paris there was momentum, a real sense of urgency and a result.

Here in Katowice we must recapture the spirit of Paris.
The urgency of fighting and adapting to climate change has in no way diminished.
And neither has the undeniable fact that climate change affects us all.
It's crucial that, in the next two weeks, we decide on how we will fulfil the promise of Paris to keep global warming well below two degrees Celsius, and make a serious attempt to limit the rise to one-point-five degrees.

It will be far from easy to reach these goals.
There are great challenges but also great opportunities ahead.
Recently the IPCC reported that current emission trajectories fall far short of what is required.
So we must step up our efforts.
In the Netherlands, we are aiming for a 95 per cent reduction in emissions by 2050.
We are already preparing measures to ensure a 49 per cent reduction by 2030.
But the reality is that even this will not be enough to achieve the goals we set in Paris.
So the Netherlands wants to raise the bar even higher: to a reduction of 55 per cent by 2030, provided we can convince our partners in the EU to do the same.
What affects us all should concern us all.

That also means that developing countries need help.
The Netherlands is launching a special 160-million-euro Fund for Climate and Development, to help developing countries fight and adapt to climate change.

For us, it is self-evident that mitigation and adaptation should go hand in hand.
Much of the Netherlands lies below sea level.
And the Caribbean countries of our Kingdom are small island states that are extra vulnerable in the hurricane season. 
So it’s no coincidence that the Global Commission on Adaptation was launched in our country last month.
Or that water management has been part of our DNA ever since the Middle Ages.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In the next two weeks we must decide on how we will implement the Agreement.
We need the rulebook to be as robust, comprehensive and practical as possible.
And we need the Talanoa Dialogue to be a success. 
Because we have made a promise to the future that we must fulfil.
Thank you.