Geneva Dialogue aims to point the way for long-term financing of climate action

Bern, 26.08.2010 - On the invitation of Switzerland and Mexico, representatives from over 40 countries will meet in Geneva on 2 and 3 September 2010 to discuss the long-term financing of climate action. Swiss Federal Councillor Moritz Leuenberger will chair the ministerial meeting along with Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa.

The mitigation and management of climate change will require considerable financial resources. Hence the regulation of financial issues is a key precondition for the successful conclusion of the international climate negotiations, which will be continued at the Climate Change Conference from late November in the Mexican city of Cancùn.

Over 40 ministers invited

Switzerland would like to support the advancement of the formal climate negotiations. Hence, together with Mexico, it is organising the “Geneva Dialogue on Climate Finance” on 2 and 3 September 2010 in Geneva. The conference will be chaired by Swiss Federal Councillor Moritz Leuenberger and the Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa, who will also chair the Climate Change Conference in Cancùn.

Christiana Figueres, the new Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), will also participate in the informal ministerial meeting in Geneva. Over 40 ministers are invited to the Geneva Climate Dialogue. The countries whose ministers have been invited include those most active in the ongoing negotiations. They have also been selected to ensure representativity in terms of continents, size and economic development.

The Geneva Climate Dialogue is an informal meeting and does not form part of the formal climate negotiations being held as part of the UNFCCC. No decisions will be taken at the meeting. Instead, the aim is to raise the awareness of the participants of the issue of long-term financing and, in this way, enable the incorporation of the associated information into the formal climate negotiations. The question of short-term financing will not be a focus of the discussion in Geneva. The High-level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will also take part in the meeting.

The purpose of the Geneva Dialogue is to facilitate the exchange of ideas and identification of ways in which a sustainable financial architecture for climate action can be established. The following core questions will be addressed: What form could a global climate fund take? How would it relate to existing climate funds and other UN climate-related finance mechanisms (e.g. Global Environment Fund GEF)? What role would the private sector play? How should a climate fund be financed?

Address for enquiries

Franz Perrez, Head of the International Affairs Division, Federal Office for the Environment FOEN, + 41 (0)79 251 90 15
Adrian Aeschlimann, Head of the Media Section FOEN, +79 277 51 83