Mr. President,

Distinguished colleagues,

Mr. President, just over a month ago the world gathered in Indonesia to agree on much needed further steps in the global fight against climate change. That meeting was a turning point in our efforts to address climate change.

Now is the time to start implementing the Bali Action Plan without delay. In that effort, the United Nations will have to play a leading role.

I therefore warmly welcome the leadership of the Secretary General in this regard, and applaud his decision to make the fight against climate change such a high priority for the United Nations.

The report of the Secretary General on the UN activities on climate change makes it clear that the wider UN family is already significantly contributing. But further steps are needed now. I would therefore strongly invite the Secretary General to make further recommendations on the specific role of the different parts of the UN system to ensure a coordinated response to climate change.

With that in mind, I would like to focus on one topic. The global fight against climate change requires us to mobilize resources on a nearly unprecedented scale. Not only human and political resources, but also financial flows. We will need to find billions of dollars over the next 20 years to place the world on a low-carbon, sustainable energy path, to take measures to protect vulnerable populations from the impacts of climate change and to tackle the issue of deforestation effectively.

The bulk of the extra financial flows will have to come from the private sector. In seeking market opportunities and pursuing innovation, they will have to scale up climate friendly and energy related investments. To make this happen, Governments should create a favorable investment climate, provide the right incentives, as well as work towards a long-term international framework. Today, such incentives are often lacking. So, let us engage industry and the private sector more actively in the discussion on how to formulate a post-2012 arrangement that is cost-effective, flexible and fair.

But, Mr. President, of course – public funding remains an important source as well. Industrialized countries should, at the national level, support and stimulate climate change initiatives of the private sector, of NGOs, and of society at large. Moreover, additional public funding should be mobilized to assist developing countries in their mitigation and adaptation actions. This will also help to achieve the ‘Millennium Development Goals’.

Like I have said on earlier occasions: the industrialized countries have caused the main part of the climate change problem, it is therefore up to the industrialized world to provide the main part of the solution. We will have to lead this effort!

So, we should discuss on what should be done in this regard. Let me highlight two points.

One -- there is already a lot of funding out there. Let us make better use of it, avoid a proliferation of funds, and better harmonize existing resources. The Netherlands has made available 500 million Euros for investment in, and promotion of, renewable energy in developing countries. We will make sure that this funding will fit in well with the many other initiatives currently undertaken, and address the priorities of our partner countries.

And secondly -- there is a need for additional and predictable public finance. The question is which financial mechanisms we put in place to manage these financial resources. Here too, the UN system is uniquely equipped to support us, having in mind especially UNEP, UNDP, the World Bank and the IMF.

In closing, Mr. President -- I will use my position as the Dutch Minister of the Environment to further the international discussion of the financing issue and promote partnerships with the private sector. I firmly believe that progress in this area is the key that can unlock the door to solving the problem of climate change.

Thank you, Mr. President.