US Mission Geneva

Secretary Kerry: “In Kigali, Rwanda, I was proud to help represent the United States as the nearly 200 Parties to the Montreal Protocol agreed to an amendment to phase down the use and production of potent greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The Kigali Amendment we adopted could avoid up to half a degree Celsius of warming by the end of the century.”

I also want to thank the people of every nation that has moved quickly to bring the Paris Agreement into force. I encourage folks who have not yet submitted their documentation to enter into this agreement to do so as soon as possible. And in the coming days, let’s help finish additional agreements to limit aviation emissions, to phase down dangerous use of hydrofluorocarbons — all of which will help build a world that is safer, and more prosperous, and more secure, and more free than the one that was left for us.

“Geneva – the operational hub of multilateral diplomacy – provides the foundation for our work, which is built on the need to bridge cultures, to develop a network of both traditional and non-traditional partners, as we address the world’s most significant social, economic, and environmental challenges. And that’s what I want to talk about today – how the United States is working in concert with the international community in Geneva – through multi-stakeholder partnerships – to enhance resiliency and foster sustainable development around the world.”

From September 1-10, the State of Hawaii will host the IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) under the theme “Planet at the Crossroads.” At the Congress, the State Department will help showcase the Administration’s accomplishments on a range of international environmental issues, including climate, oceans and wildlife trafficking.

“I want to emphasize how deeply the United States values and respects our friendship with Kenya. Today, our annual 2A trade exceeds 1.5 billion and U.S. investors are increasingly attracted to the possibilities here, especially in such sectors as energy, agri-business, and ICT. Our governments work together on a range of issues, including climate change, where I might add Kenya is a regional leader, both through its engagement in the international climate negotiations and through its own ambitious domestic efforts.”

Ambassador Pamela Hamamoto stresses the importance of the World Meteorological Organization and the many national weather and meteorological services around the world to address the impacts of our changing climate.

If 2015 was a year of commitment, 2016 is the year to take action. And the IUCN World conservation Congress is an important step in that direction, offering us all a chance to define the sustainable path for moving the Paris climate agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals from targets to achievements.

“Today we know: The new energy future, the efficiencies, the alternative resources, the clean options – none of what we have to achieve is beyond our capacity technologically. The only question is whether it is beyond our collective resolve.”

The United States and China share one of the most consequential relationships in the world. In recent months and years, our nations have worked together to bring about important progress on a range of global issues, including a landmark agreement on climate change in Paris last year, which began with President Xi and – actually, it began before that with our conversations even a year earlier, but ultimately with President Xi and President Obama standing in Beijing and announcing jointly what our intended reductions would be, and that significantly impacted the decisions of other countries leading up to and into Paris.