 Good afternoon. I'm Rick Sammons, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum, and welcome to press conference on leading the global climate and energy agenda. We're privileged to have with us this afternoon United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, and President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim. With that, I'd like to invite the Secretary-General to make some opening comments. President Barroso, President Jim Yong Kim of World Bank, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm pleased to be in Davos, and that so much attention is being placed on the issue of climate change. The European Commission has announced an ambitious proposal with the economy-wide emissions targets of 40 percent by 2030, and the renewable energy target of at least 27 percent by the same date. I commend the leadership of President Barroso of the European Union. The European Union has set a standard that all need to follow. We are now at a critical stage in the global conversation on climate change. The global agreement to be concluded in 2015 offers us an opportunity to limit global temperature rise below two degrees centigrade and underpin our quest for sustainable development. In September, I'll host a climate summit in New York. I'm asking government, business, finance, and civil society to come with a bold announcement and actions because achieving an ambitious and legal climate agreement will require political leadership and clear signals. My intention is to provide a high-visibility platform so that those who are ready to lead can do so. I want to spur or raise to the top. I want all leaders to be inspired and to define what they each can bring to the table. With this announcement, the European Commission has set the bold rolling. I urge European Union leaders to put their full support behind this transformational proposal. I hope by the time of the summit we can celebrate the adoption of the Commission's proposal into law. I also hope the Commission's leadership will motivate all countries to aim high and come to the summit with their own bold announcements. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Secretary General. President Poroso. Mr. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, President Kim of World Bank, ladies and gentlemen. First of all, Secretary General, thank you very much for your kind words that are for us a great encouragement. Indeed, the European Union continues to be a pioneer for global climate action. As you know, we are already committed to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 80 to 95 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. We have adopted the world's most ambitious and binding goals for 2020, and we are on track to meet them. And just yesterday, 22nd of January, the European Commission proposed an ambitious EU climate and energy package for 2030. With a binding 40 percent CO2 reduction target to be reached by 2030 and a special European Union target of at least 27 percent for renewable energy, it is clear that Europe will continue to lead and contribute its fair share to global climate action, this defining challenge of our time. This high level of ambition and leadership, we must recognize it, is in our own economic interest. We are spending too much on importing costly fossil fuels from abroad, around 1 billion euros a year. This package will also increase the competitiveness of European industry, boost innovation and demand, create jobs, attract investment and increase energy security. Let me say that I also understand the concerns of all of those around the world that fear that such an accent on climate may have problems for growth. I know the concerns of some emerging economies and also developed economies that are now a little bit more reluctant to go ahead also because of the impact of the economic crisis. But let me tell them that there is no contradiction between growth and ambition in climate change. The European Union has already proved that reducing emissions can go hand in hand with economic growth. In the last 22 years, after 1990, our emissions have gone down by 18 percent, while GDP has risen by 45 percent. So I think there cannot be a better demonstration of this compatibility with growth. This is a powerful signal to the rest of the world and shows that we are beyond the debate where we had to either be green or a defender of industry. So I call on all our partners globally, on developed countries, to emerging economies, of course, to the developing world and especially on big emitters, to come with us and to respond also to the clear appeal of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. This is one of the reasons why we have presented these proposals just yesterday. I mean now, this is precisely to help the international global debate. In 2015, France will host the key United Nations Climate Conference in Paris, COP 21. Already this September, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will host the Leader Summit in New York, which I will attend. And I applaud his leadership in the climate cause. And I can tell you how I know well, he's a very strong ally as President Kim of the World Bank. I thank him as well. This summit in New York will be a further stepping stone towards an ambitious binding global climate agreement in 2015 and an agreement that we hope will cover all emitters. The European Union will make its first contributions to this in Spring 2015 as foreseen. And I sincerely hope that our global partners will be with us in an equally ambitious and determined manner. Addressing climate change is not simply an option, it is a must. And it is in the interests of everyone, environmental, economically, and politically. Thank you for your attention. Thank you, President Barroso. President Kim. Thank you very much. It's great to be here with Secretary-General. I applaud his leadership. I especially want to draw attention to the leadership that President Barroso has shown in reaching this agreement. And we all have to remember that the member organizations of the European Union have an extremely diverse set of views on this particular issue. So his ability to bring the union together, I think, is a very important signal for all of us. A year ago, I said at this meeting that we needed a plan for tackling climate change, a plan fit for the challenge that we face. A year later we've seen great leadership on climate from countries and companies, but emissions are still rising and the poor are still suffering. We don't have a plan yet, and the bits we do have are not equal to the size of the challenge. The U.N. Secretary-General has called for a leadership summit and we all should be very grateful to him for having done so. This gives us the opportunity to organize our collective leadership. This is the year to take action on climate change. No more excuses. If we fail, our children and grandchildren will ask us why we didn't act when it was still possible to do so. We need leaders who are not thinking about short-term returns or election cycles. We need leaders who are thinking foremost about taking care of the most vulnerable in this generation and the generations ahead. The good news is that there is action we all can take to turn economies around so they are investing in what is clean and healthy, and there are innovations that will bring future growth, jobs, and competitiveness. Through policy reforms, we can divest and tax that which we don't want, the carbon that threatens development gains of the last 20 years. First things first, many have called for a price on carbon. Now we must act. Governments must put a price on pollution. Putting a price on carbon through either taxes or market-based instruments is key. Can we be ready by September to set target dates for implementation? We should set performance standards for buildings, cars, appliances, transport systems, and drive efficiency to encourage investment away from high carbon growth and toward innovation and cleaner, greener growth. We have called for a phase out of harmful fossil fuel subsidies. Act now. The $1.9 trillion in subsidies can be redirected to support investment in clean growth. This challenges the notion that responding to climate change is not affordable. Financial regulators need to lead as well. Sooner rather than later, they must address the systemic risks associated with carbon-intensive activities in their economy, made clear, of course, by price signals. Start now by enforcing disclosure of climate risks and requiring companies and financial institutions to access their exposure to climate related impacts. The so-called long-term investors must recognize their fiduciary responsibility to future pension holders who will be affected by decisions made today. Corporate leaders should not wait to act until market signals are right, and national investment policies are in place. Be the first mover. Use smart due diligence. Rethink what fiduciary responsibility means in this changing world. It's simple self-interest. Every company, investor, and bank that screens new and existing investments for climate risks is simply being pragmatic. The release of the green bond principles this month is welcome. But we need to seize the opportunity, one that many financial leaders have been calling for. Let's use appetite for green bonds to expand the universe of investors who are investing in green assets, and let's create demand for those assets faster. Can CEOs in energy, infrastructure, and agribusiness come to New York in September with their green bond issue in hand or underway? And institutional investors should commit to purchasing specific significant amounts of green bonds for their portfolios. So as a first step, we should aim to double the green bond market and reach 20 billion by the September summit and at least 50 billion by the time of the Paris meeting. In the face of the science and the risks associated with climate volatility and the social volatility of inequality, the question isn't why we should act, but rather it's why aren't we acting. We have to help poor countries in this transition. We have to reduce the risks of low carbon investments, especially in developing countries. But we can do it. Development finance institutions can leverage their capital and use the green climate fund to reduce the risk and catalyze new investments in resilience. Finally, to heads of state, announcing your commitments to capitalize the green climate fund at the time of the Secretary General's summit will build trust and important momentum. In 20 years, all of us will be asked the question, what did you do to fight climate change? The leaders here in Davos, both from the private sector and from governments, have it in their power to act in substantial ways. Now is the time to act for future generations before it's too late. Thank you. Thank you, President Kim. Indeed, 2014 is a crucial year for engagement in climate change. And I would just want to note in moving to questions that there are over 30 different sessions, both public and private on many different practical aspects of what could be done to prepare the ground for successful mobilization of both policy and action in 2015. The floor is now open. Please simply identify your your publication or your affiliation before asking your question on climate change and energy. Any questions? Yes. Just one second. John Halpern, Associated Press, I apologize because I'm very keenly interested in climate change, but I have to ask you, Secretary General, about the Syria talks, what the prospects are for peace there. I'm sorry. And Iran's participation here. We've, this is a press conference on climate and energy. There will be other opportunities to ask questions about other matters such as Syria. Thank you for understanding questions about energy or climate. And the agenda here this week. If not, Silence means enthusiastic support. Yes, right here in the front. Right here. My name is Fassil from the Swiss public radio. I wanted to ask what has changed in the discussion since 2006 to now in between there was just a crisis mode here in Davos. What has changed now significantly in the talks that you attended here at the web? To me. This climate change issues has not been seriously tackled before 2006 or 2007. Since I became Secretary General 2007, through Bali Roadmap, the international community has been paying much heightened attention and commitment. And we made quite a historic milestone in Bali Roadmap. Then it went on. Then finally in Durban, the Cancun, Durban, and Doha, the member states have agreed that there should be a global legal climate agreement by 2015. This is a very firm agreement by the member states of the United Nations. That is why we have been working very, very hard. We have only three years, less than three years left now. One final before we go, final meeting before we go to Paris will be in Peru this year. Then by the time in Peru, we need to have concrete document, draft document, so that the member states will negotiate on the basis of this document, which we hope will be adopted in Paris summit meeting 2015 next year. In that regard, to spur some actions and political will of the leaders, I have decided to convene a climate change summit meeting on September 23rd in New York. We have two purposes. First, we have to raise much, much higher the political will at the leaders level. Now this time, the leaders mean not only government, but business communities and civil societies and all the concerned parties. They should come with a bold commitment and actions. Then second, through this summit meeting, I would like to use this opportunity to catalyze actions on the ground. Many people may have some jokingly say, well, this is going to be another talk shop, but this is going to be actions summit, not talk summit, action summit, which will generate much, much spur in the area of energy, sustainable energy, and mobilizing climate financing and also promoting this resilient urban development, cities and transport and all these areas. There are many, many areas which we have discussed in the summit meeting in 2012. Reducing carbon, greenhouse gas, and having green economy will put us onto a sustainable path. That's the main purpose. In that regard, European Union's announcement yesterday of reducing targeting 40% of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions against 1990 is a very positive message. I hope this will be emulated by all the countries in the world. Our hope is that all this announcement and declaration and their commitment should be a scalable one and replicable one by other countries and other firms. That is why with the President Barros and the President of World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, I am going to meet a lot of people, business leaders and government leaders to use this diverse forum as the starting ground, launching ground for this three-year campaign. President Kim. Yeah, let me just jump in here. I think there are three main points about the three main things that are very different than there were before. First is political leadership. The fact that the Secretary General has made battling climate change one of his very top priorities is extremely important, but we also see changes in the United States, a much stronger commitment to tackling climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. China has one of the most ambitious plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, an ambition that they need given that they are the largest emitter. And then President Barroso, so the three top emitters, the European Union China and the U.S. are all in a very different place right now than they were even two or three years ago. So that's the first thing, political leadership. Second thing is the private sector. I see a completely different mood among private sector companies, CEOs of the largest banks in the world talking to us, talking to me particularly about the possibility for green bonds and how they can use their capital to facilitate the movement toward renewable energy. And finally, the technology is different and it's changing all the time. Concentrated solar, for example, was a dream several years ago and now the possibilities are much better and that's only going to accelerate over time. But to get the kind of investment in new technologies that we need, the market signals have to be very strong. And so the combination of the commitments from the governments and from leaders like Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the new and growing approach of the private sector, the commitment of the private sector, I think will lead to the new technologies and we can begin the virtuous circle that we've all been waiting for. Answering directly your question, what are the different sides see compared to other editions of Davos? One of them, I don't resist to say it, is that the European Union crisis is no longer at the center. There is less talk about the concerns in Europe because in fact, our recovery has started even if we have to do still a lot of work. I think now we have turned the corner. Now regarding climate change, also I think that now we have better conditions precisely because the last years, the minds of world leaders were much more focused on the urgency of the financial crisis. And so it is true that in the last years, after Copenhagen, after other important events, there was less attention to the pressing existential crisis of climate change. That's why I'm so happy with the leadership of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon putting in the agenda already in 2014 in this meeting, he's organizing in New York this agenda, this topic. And that's why also yesterday the commission already put forward proposals that are indeed ambitious that now are going to be debated in Europe and beyond as a contribution for the global conversation that we need. So 2014 is indeed the year. Why? Because you have this rendezvous in New York with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. You have the conference in Peru. And so that if you want to be ready for 2015, for the conference in Paris where decisions that can be really historic decisions are going to be taken, it's now that we have to prepare them. Honestly, this is such a complex and ambitious matter that we cannot only rely on the wisdom of leaders meeting at the last moment. It's a work that has to be done. And for that we, I think we, those who believe in this, the need to fight this cause, we have, we need two allies at least. Those are the allies I trust most, science, because science is demonstrating that the climate change is indeed a threat with a huge impact on human life and also on the economy. And secondly, the public opinion. And for that we can't on the media. Of course, respecting the freedom of the media. But the media should now, I mean my perspective also, give more attention to these issues. Because this is the year where we need the countries and the organizations of the world to focus so that we can prepare an ambitious decision for 2015. This is the mood, the change in the mood that I see in some cases and I hope to see in some others. Thank you. We've reached the end of our time. I want to thank each of our distinguished leaders here and wish everyone, including you, a good week here in Davos.