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Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen;

In accepting the honour that you have bestowed on me in electing me President of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, I feel the full weight of this responsibility on my shoulders.

A responsibility that in fact, we all share, both delegates here in this room and those who will be joining us between now and December 9.

Around the globe, everyone is increasingly aware of climate change, which is the greatest ecological risk we now face and will be facing this century.

Those who have delegated us are expecting us to make real progress here in Montreal, and it is our duty to produce results.

I believe that Montreal will be auspicious, not only because Mayor Tremblay has motivated us with his inspiring speech, or because the Premier of Quebec, who, as my predecessor, served as Canadian Minister of the Environment at Rio, but because this is not Montreal’s first environmental event. Just remember the Montreal Protocol on the Ozone.

In this great Canadian city, which is home to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the North American Commission for Environmental Commission Co-operation, I am indeed certain that we will rise to the occasion with a genuine spirit of co-operation for the sake of the environment.

I know that you will all be very busy in the coming days, but I encourage you to take the time to enjoy what Montreal has to offer.

Take part in the parallel activities, exhibits, lectures and cultural events that are being held.

Who knows, one of these events may be what inspires you.

Some of you will most certainly be attending the meeting of big city mayors, which Mayor Tremblay has helped to organize, and for which I would like to extend my thanks.

Or maybe, you will be attending the summit of provincial government leaders and large corporations, for which I have Quebec Premier Jean Charest and Manitoba Premier Gary Doer to thank.

And I know that you will be listening closely to the declaration from the Youth Summit. After all, it is their future that is at stake.

But if there is one person who has helped us to inject renewed vitality and whom I would like to thank on your behalf, it’s Minister Ginés González García.

I would just like to say a few words to him in Spanish:
Ministro, vuestros valiosos esfuerzos ayudaron mucho a preparar el trabajo que hoy empezamos, y a mantener el movimiento mundial para aliviar los cambios climaticos.

Estimado Ministro González García, muchisimas gracias y bienvenido a Montreal. Welcome to Montréal!

If there is one topic on which it is pointless to dwell, it is the crucial aspect of what is at stake and what has brought us all together. We are all convinced of this.

We know that climate change is the single most important environmental issue facing the world today.

The scientific evidence on climate change, from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that met in Montreal in September, and from many others, is more compelling than ever.

We know that the longer we wait, the larger will be the challenge and the damage from climate change.

The broad-based consensus is that more action is required now.

We are building on a solid foundation.

The 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is the cornerstone, and we have worked steadily to improve it.

The last five years have seen agreement on the Marrakech Accords setting the rules for Kyoto at CoP7.

The Delhi Declaration at CoP8 encapsulated views on key issues such as adaptation and technology transfer, and re-emphasized the need to integrate action on climate change within a broader sustainable development framework.

In Milan, we focussed global attention on the critical and growing issue of adaptation.

And last May, we profited from the very positive Seminar of Government Experts agreed upon at CoP 10 in Buenos Aires.

And of course, the coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol last February was also a major international achievement, and I am honoured to host the very first meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.

World leaders at the 2005 UN World Summit stressed the importance of the UN conference that we are inaugurating today.

They acknowledged that the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible cooperation and participation, in an effective and appropriate international response, in accordance with the principles of the Climate Change Convention.

So the stage is set for this conference.

Yes, we have the foundation.

But we have something even more important in this room: we have the good will and the desire to move forward.

I know this because in preparing for the conference, I have travelled around the world with my team, especially Canada’s Ambassador for Climate Change Jacques Bilodeau, whom many of you know well.

I have been impressed with what we’ve heard and seen: on every continent, countries, on their own, are taking decisive action to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.

We need to learn from each other and to improve our capacity to act in our own countries and at the global level.

If we accomplish this, Montreal 2005 will be a success.

You have prepared well for this conference.

I want to recognize especially the Parties who helped organize international events, Ministerial-level meetings and conferences, and roundtables with international experts, to examine different aspects of the climate change challenge.

I have followed those exchanges with keen interest and have had dialogues with Parties from every region of the world.

Based on my travels and meetings with you, it appears to me that our work here at the conference might be focussed on three objectives.

As I indicated in my letter to all of you, we have named them: the three “I’S”:
Implement, Improve, Innovate.

In French, we have the three ‘A’s: Application, Amélioration and Avenir.

So, the 3 ‘I’s in English, the three ‘A’s in French; I’m counting on you to tell me what those letters should be in your native language.

The first ‘I’ is for Implement.

Implement what? The Kyoto Protocol.

The formal adoption of the Marrakech Accords and other decisions is essential to bring the Kyoto Protocol to life, to get it up and running, and make it an effective, operating instrument.

The second “I” is for Improve.

Improve what? The operation of the Convention and of the Kyoto Protocol.

This includes strengthening the Clean Development Mechanism, the CDM, and making progress on key areas such as adaptation and technology.

The CDM is a truly innovative instrument of the Kyoto Protocol.

Through it, developing countries will gain access to needed financial assistance and new technologies, and developed countries can meet their Kyoto commitments.

But like all new instruments, it can be improved.

On adaptation, what can I say except this: just turn on the news to see how countries are experiencing the impacts of climate change…

We all need to do more – and help others - to adapt to these now inevitable impacts, which are already upon us.

This is why we need to push ahead with the five-year Programme of Work, a legacy of Buenos Aires.

Regarding technology, we have to speed up the transfer of the very best existing technologies as well as the development of the new ones that will lead us to the technological revolution that we need.

This brings us to the third “I”, Innovate. Innovate for what? For the future.

Bearing in mind our ultimate common objective of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations at a level that prevents dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system, we need to consider the future in two contexts.

First, as required under Kyoto Article 3.9, we have to begin consideration of commitments in the second period.

Furthermore, I am hearing that we also need to explore options for future cooperation in a manner that reflects the full range of interests of the Convention Parties.

Conclusion

In concluding, I will make this commitment to you: I will listen carefully, attentively and actively to what you all say here.

Let us all capitalize on the good will present in this room.

Let us capitalize on the actions we have taken so far, on the successes we have achieved.

Let us be driven by the responsibilities we have and feel; responsibilities to our respective countries, to humanity, to our one and only planet.

Let us seek consensus for outcomes that move us all towards substantial solutions.

Let us set our sights on an effective, more inclusive, long-term, international approach to climate change.