Address by the President at the Third World Climate Conference

Ljubljana, 3.9.2009  |  speech

Address by Dr. Danilo Türk, President of the Republic of Slovenia, at the Third World Climate Conference
Geneva, 3 September 2009


Mr. President,

The twentieth century was the oil century. The availability of cheap oil and its exploitation have transformed the world into a place of rapid industrial growth, explosive urbanization, high mobility and expansive food production.

But this era is drawing to a close. The World needs real societal transformation and it needs it urgently. The alarm bells have been ringing for a long time by now.

Climate change is a threat to the entire humankind. However, its effects are likely to be different with respect to different regions, different areas of human activity, and different social classes. The dangers at hand call for immediate action.

But what kind of action is needed? I suggest that the political leaders begin with an admission of past mistakes. For it is a matter of policy choices of the past that action to address the problem of global warming is seriously lagging behind.

The responsibility for delays clearly rests with the shortcomings in political leadership in the past years and decades. The responsibility for the necessary change, on the other hand, rests with the political leadership of today.

The change should start with mitigation to be followed by adjustment. In that regard the world has common but differentiated responsibility for development of adequate mitigation strategies. This means that priority should be given to the most affected and the most vulnerable.


This is exactly where Global Framework for Climate Services enters the picture. The accurate and timely information is key to effective policy making. The expected provision of information and the consequent application programme will provide an essential tool to governments and other policy makers, both at the national and the international level. It is expected that the needs of the users will be leading the work of the system and that the system will help in the necessary societal transformation in the future. Every effort is now needed to bring this system into existence and to make it effective. A strong commitment of member states will be needed. Governments and business communities must cooperate fully.

Mr. President,

Slovenia, a member state of the European Union, fully identifies itself with the position, which will be expressed later in this debate by the representative of Sweden, the presiding member state of the EU. We are proud that the EU has been able to articulate policy views and objectives that will help in the process of negotiations at the upcoming Copenhagen conference.

In addition, each country needs to reflect very carefully about its own experience in the period since the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol and to ponder the policy changes needed to meet the new targets to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and to design its policies of instigation and adjustment. Let me briefly - and critically - refer to the experience of my country - Slovenia, a prosperous and economically successful new member of the EU.

By signing the Kyoto Protocol, Slovenia committed itself to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions over the period between 2008 - 2012 by 8 per cent compared to the base year of 1986. To date, the target has remained unmet. We must admit that the implementation has not been successful. The paradox lies in the fact that the last decade was a decade of high growth rates and rising prosperity. Traffic, in particular road traffic, rose almost spontaneously, while the development of railways was largely neglected. The increases in the greenhouse gas emissions were substantial. The construction industry boomed with insufficient attention to energy efficiency. Renewable sources of energy were developed with little imagination - essentially through the expansion of hydroelectric facilities. Much of the precious time for adjustment and change has thus been wasted.

In the same period of growth Slovenia started to experience the effects of the changing climate patterns. We have started to feel the country's vulnerability to the adverse impacts of climate variabilities and to the resulting disasters such as floods, landslides and droughts. Gradually the awareness of the need for serious change has started to set in.

Now, we find ourselves in a double bind: that of environmental challenges and the other resulting from the economic recession. Quite paradoxically, the current recession underscores - much more clearly than the preceding period of high growth rates ever did - the seriousness of the need for a more sustainable pattern of development. The shortcomings of the past are better understood and the readiness for a real change is growing. The alarm bells are heard better than before.

So, where do we go from here? Clearly there are national priorities, such as the much needed development of the railways system that will have to be given high attention. But we need to understand the importance of climate change adaptation more broadly. We have to bring together all the efforts and consolidate the relevant policies in areas of energy, traffic, industrial development, urban and space planning and the system of taxation with a view to formulating a coherent and viable strategy of change. Taken together all these tasks constitute a heavy agenda for the Government.

I believe we shall succeed. And I am convinced that the international mechanism such as the Global Framework of Climate Services will help.

Mr. President,

Let me conclude by thanking all those who have brought the process of development of the Global Framework for Climate Services to the current level of achievement and express hope that good results will be achieved as we move on.

Thank you, Mr. President.