Statement
By
Ms. Anna Tibaijuka
Under Secretary General &
Executive Director
at the
Climate Change Expo Opening Ceremony

Congratulatory Remarks

Seoul, Republic of Korea, 18 May 2009

Honourable OH Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul
Honourable David Miller, Mayor of Toronto and Chair of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
Distinguished Mayors, city delegates, exhibitors, members of the press
Ladies and gentlemen

It gives me great pleasure to address you at the occasion of the opening of the Climate Expo!

This exhibition showcases how far applied science has come. The technologies presented here will go a long way in reducing our Climate Footprint. Innovations that result in new levels of energy efficiency and new technologies and processes that lead to a fossil-fuel free future must also be at the forefront of a Green New Deal to revive our economies.

But we all know, no matter how fast we reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions and those of other Greenhouse Gases, the impacts of Climate Change will increasingly be felt. How cities cope with these impacts will determine the lives of millions of city dwellers – and of those that will increasingly come to cities as Climate Migrants. Cities can and must lead in addressing climate change. Whilst the emphasis of this Climate Expo is the presentation of Climate Change mitigation innovations, some exhibitors showcase adaptation solutions. Both need to go hand-in-hand.

Under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, many UN agencies have been working hard to reduce impacts of the climate change and raise the public awareness on this issue, through programmes such as Cities and Climate Change Initiative and Seal the deal. I appreciate the participating mayors’ commitment and kindly ask for their further cooperation to join our activities.

I would like to sincerely congratulate and thank the Seoul Metropolitan Government for organizing this exhibition in parallel with the C40 Summit. It will provide the platform for exchange between and among the private sector, the practitioners and the city policy makers.

I wish you all a successful Climate Expo and that it sparks new technologies in the cities.
Thank you very much for your attention.