Head of GCF addresses Asia-Pacific leaders: ‘Climate change action is an enabler of the SDGs’

The Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund, Héla Cheikhrouhou, today presented leaders from the Asia-Pacific region with the work of GCF to support opportunities for low-emission, climate-resilient development in their countries. Organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, the meeting convened the ministers of finance and governors of central banks of the region.

Speaking at the UN High-Level Follow-Up Dialogue on Financing for Development, Ms. Cheikhrouhou emphasized the interconnections between the collective effort to respond to climate change and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Highlighting the recent adoption of the SDGs and the historic Paris Agreement on climate change, she called for public, private, and civil society actors to collaborate to deliver both.

“Realizing the Sustainable Development Goals and lifting millions out of poverty will simply not be possible on a planet that is ravaged by climate change,” stated Ms. Cheikhrouhou. “We need to change the way we make our daily investment and consumption decisions,” she added.

Ms. Cheikhrouhou explained the mandate of GCF to serve the implementation of the Paris Agreement and its strategic approach to support developing countries' priorities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build green economies.

The Fund’s Executive Director further called upon the 200 participants in the conference to prioritize climate mitigation and adaptation investments in the region, in particular in vulnerable Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

“Work with us,” she urged. “Together we can start to turn the ambitious targets of the SDGs and the Paris Agreement into action.”

The full text of her remarks can be found here.