Dear friends, All protocols observed.Thank you for your warm welcome – and Michael Bloomberg, thank you for your kind words – and for your longstanding and outstanding leadership on climate action.You are helping turn ambition into real progress for people and planet.    Thank you for your strong voice – and I am grateful for the commitment and advocacy of so many distinguished leaders here today, starting by our mayor.Dear Friends, Crisis brings clarity.And here in London – the city of Dickens – it is clear that our world is facing a Tale of Two Crises.A climate crisis pushing us deeper toward higher temperatures and closer to catastrophic tipping points.And an energy crisis exposing the folly of a world hooked on hydrocarbons.On the surface, these crises may seem separate.But they share the same destructive origin:Fossil fuels.And they demand the same answer:A fast, fair transition to clean energy – and a surge in adaptation, resilience and climate justice for those already facing climate harm.Dear friends, Crisis number 1: climate chaos is accelerating before our eyes.We have just lived through the eleven hottest years ever recorded.And today this city – and far beyond – are experiencing the hottest day of the year – with higher temperatures to come.London isn’t just calling – it’s cooking. Around the world, climate disasters are becoming more frequent, more destructive, and more costly.And the World Meteorological Organization has warned we ain’t seen nothing yet.El Niño is not just knocking on the door.  It risks blowing the house down. Turning up the heat.  Disrupting food and water systems.  And hitting the vulnerable the hardest. Ten years ago, world leaders agreed in Paris to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.  Now scientists say average annual temperatures will exceed that threshold in the coming years. The task before us is to strictly limit the overshoot, shorten its duration, and bring temperatures down below 1.5 degrees Celsius as fast as possible.Every fraction of a degree matters.Every moment counts. Because the higher and longer the overshoot, the greater the risk of crossing planetary tipping points that trigger irreversible change.Today, the United Nations Scientific Advisory Board is releasing a report on precisely what that would mean. Coral reef systems pushed towards collapse.  The accelerating loss of ice sheets in Greenland and the West Antarctic – locking in  sea-level rise that would reshape coastlines, displace millions, and threaten the existence of some island nations. The weakening of major ocean circulation systems that regulate weather and rainfall.  And parts of the Amazon rainforest shifting toward savanna-like conditions.Dear friends, The Earth’s tipping points are like objects in a car mirror:  They are far closer than they appear. At the same time, we are confronting a second crisis. Conflict in the Middle East has unleashed the mother of all energy shocks.The International Energy Agency tells us its scale rivals the oil upheavals of the 1970s … and the turmoil followed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  Combined. For many developing countries, this is not just an energy crisis. It is a debt shock.  A food shock.  A development shock.  And I would add that any peace agreement is welcome and would bring much needed relief, but – make no mistake – the impacts are likely to be long-lasting. Dear friends, These twin crises have once again exposed the limits of an outdated model of development.A model powered by fossil fuels – where a single conflict can upend global energy supply, and a single chokepoint can send prices soaring. A model that treats nature as limitless – to be consumed without consequence. A model that has created enormous wealth – but also deepened inequality and fueled insecurity.A model in which those who did the least to cause these crises pay the highest price. The lesson is clear: this model has no future. The international community recognized its limits when it adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The world cannot go back.We cannot double down on a system based on fossil fuels that is driving both the climate crisis and the energy crisis.What we need, urgently, is the will to fully implement the Sustainable Development Goals. To align prosperity with resilience. Growth with sustainability.And opportunity with justice.The good news is – unlike every past energy crisis – we now have a clear way out.A clean way out. Renewables are the cheapest, fastest and most scalable source of new electricity in most of the world.Since 2010, the cost of solar has plummeted by almost 90 per cent, onshore wind by more than 70 per cent, and battery storage by 95 per cent. Last year, wind and solar exceeded all new electricity demand growth worldwide.Solar recorded the single largest annual increase of any electricity source in history.More than 90 per cent of new renewable power added globally is already cheaper than the lowest-cost fossil fuel alternatives.According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, existing renewable energy capacity saved the world economy 480 billion US dollars in avoided fossil fuel costs in 2025 alone.And renewables avoided more than the usual carbon dioxide emissions of the US, the EU and Japan – combined. Meanwhile, clean energy investment is attracting almost twice as much as fossil fuels. Much of this momentum is from fossil fuel-importing countries determined to break free from unstable and unpredictable energy markets.They understand a core truth:  Every unit of energy a country produces for itself is one less unit it must purchase from a market it cannot control...through a route it cannot protect…at a price set by events it did not choose. There are no embargoes on sunlight and no blockades on the wind. Dear friends, The verdict is in:  Energy independence cannot be built on fossil fuel dependence.Renewables are the cornerstone of true energy security.  Electrifying transport, buildings and industry is among the fastest ways to cut emissions and break reliance on imported fossil fuels.The more economies run on clean electricity, the more secure, resilient and competitive they become. So how do we make a clean break?Let me point to seven steps. First, we must act with far greater urgency to strictly limit the magnitude and duration of any overshoot beyond 1.5 degrees.Science has laid out a clear roadmap: Emissions must peak immediately … fall steeply this decade … and reach global net zero by 2050.Yet the world remains dangerously off track.The latest national climate plans would reduce global emissions by only 10 per cent by 2035.   Science tells us that emissions must fall by 60 per cent over the same period to keep 1.5 within reach. The G20 – which is responsible for around 80 per cent of global emissions – must lead. The principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities applies, but every major emitter must do much more.And every country must over-deliver on its commitments.By accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels towards clean energy – as governments committed at the 2023 UN Climate Conference.  By halting deforestation and restoring nature.And by rapidly reducing carbon dioxide emissions from coal, oil, and gas production and consumption.CO₂ remains the principal driver of long-term warming. But it is also time to prioritize the cutting of methane. Methane is responsible for around one-third of global warming.It is some eighty times more powerful than carbon dioxide. But unlike CO₂, methane breaks down in the atmosphere within a decade or two.That means that aggressive cuts could produce visible temperature relief within a generation.  That is why today, I am launching a global Call to Action on Methane.It spotlights three sectors.  The waste sector -- including decisive steps to reduce food waste, end open dumping, and capture emissions from landfills and wastewater.The agriculture sector -- driving down emissions with proven solutions to advance food security and protect farmers’ livelihoods.And a special focus on the sector that is the root cause of the twin crises facing our world … and where the most immediate gains can be made – coal, oil and gas.I am urging the fossil fuel industry to step up and do what is long overdue.  The International Energy Agency found that around 70 per cent of oil and gas methane emissions can be eliminated using existing technology – much of it at low or no net cost.Yet in 2025 alone, some 167 billion cubic metres of gas were flared into the sky – as much as Africa consumes in a year.UN Environment’s Methane Alert and Response System has issued more than 5,000 alerts across 33 countries.Yet the global response rate stands at just 12 per cent.This is why voluntary action is no longer enough.  The world phased out leaded gasoline. We eliminated ozone-depleting chemicals.Methane pollution must be next.I call on producer and consumer governments alike to set a new global standard for the oil and gas sector: near-zero methane emissions across the value chain.Second, we must address today’s energy crisis without deepening dependence on the fuels driving it. Around the globe, powerful voices continue to insist on more coal mines, more oil fields, more gas expansion.This, at a time when the world will not even be able to use all the fossil fuels already accessible – let alone gamble on new supplies and infrastructure that risk becoming obsolete well before the end of their economic life. And let’s be clear:  It is not only assets that will be stranded — it is entire economies.The growth engine of today and tomorrow runs on clean energy. I understand the impulse, especially in periods of turbulence, to hold on to what feels familiar.The promise of “business as usual” can sound reassuring to some.But it means paying more for less security.  It means surrendering the industries and the jobs of the 21st century to others – while risk deepens at home.That’s not leadership.  It’s retreat. And we must be equally clear about who bears the cost: Working people.  Families feeling the strain with higher bills, greater uncertainty, a sense that the system is not working for them — while fossil fuel giants continue to reap extraordinary profits.The eight largest fossil fuel companies reported pocketing an extra $6.5 billion in the first quarter of this year alone – and that only includes one month of the Middle East crisis, as oil prices continued to climb and profits to rise. These are windfall gains born of pain – of instability, hardship and dependence.  I urge governments to tax them. And I urge them to use the proceeds where they belong:  helping vulnerable families and communities, and accelerating the shift to clean, affordable energy. But removing harmful subsidies and incentives is not enough.  We must also remove the structural barriers holding back clean energy projects.  Too often, they are simply waiting – sometimes for years – to connect to the grid.Transmission is inadequate. Distribution systems are outdated.Storage is lagging behind. Digital systems are not yet sufficiently smart or flexible. And regional and inter-regional connections remain too limited. If we are serious about the transition, we must treat grids as strategic infrastructure.The age of electrification will require a massive expansion of grids, storage and system flexibility. And we need rules fit for the 21st century.  Governments must create the conditions for investment – with modernized planning, faster permitting and regulatory reform. Third, as demand for energy continues to rise, we must confront one of its fastest growing sources:  AI data centres.Artificial intelligence can accelerate climate solutions. It can help cure disease, transform education, and enable humanity to tackle challenges once thought beyond our reach. We must harness that potential.But AI is also hungry for land, water and power.The data centres behind it already consume more electricity than most nations. By 2030, they could use more power than all but five countries – and enough water to meet the basic needs of all 1.3 billion residents of sub‑Saharan Africa for an entire year.They take up land, too – often in places that see few of the benefits.Despite these obvious concerns, communities are often left in the dark about the environmental impact of the infrastructure rising around them.So today I am proposing the AI Environmental Transparency Initiative.I am calling on every major AI company to measure and publicly disclose the full environmental impact of its systems – carbon, water, and land footprints – and to commit to power every data centre with renewable energy by 2030.No more hidden costs. No more shifting the burden onto those least able to bear it.It is time to come clean.If AI is to help build a better future, it must be honest about what it costs us now.Fourth, we must deliver a just transition.History teaches a hard lesson:  The greatest threat is not a transition itself – but the failure to manage it. That is the risk we face today. The energy transition is not moving in a coherent way. Fossil fuel investment continues even as clean energy grows.Countries are pulling in different directions.Producers are asking:  What happens to our revenues, our jobs, our economies? Consumers are asking:  Will energy remain affordable and reliable?Developing countries are asking:  Will we be able to compete – or be left behind?And workers, communities, and young people are asking:  What does this transition mean for our future?Right now, these questions are not being answered in a joined-up way.  We need a shared, practical effort focused on delivery.A space that brings together producers and consumers, developed and developing countries, finance, industry, labour and civil society.A space to focus on the real issues that will determine whether this transition succeeds or fails. How do we phase out reliance on fossil fuels while rapidly scaling up clean energy?How do we manage the economic risks for countries that depend on fossil fuel revenues?How do we support workers and communities through a just transition?And how do we mobilize investment at the speed and scale required?I will convene leaders in September to help drive this work forward in advance of the UN Climate Conference – COP31 – in Türkiye.Because the transition itself is no longer in question. It will be either managed or chaotic … fair or unequal … a source of stability or of greater division.These choices are still ours to make. The transition will be inevitable. And I want to emphasize that clean energy cannot be built on dirty practices.A just transition means the countries and communities whose lands hold the critical minerals of the clean energy future must fully share in its benefits.  No more extraction without development.Fifth – and fundamentally – we must do far more to protect people and communities from the here-and-now effects of climate chaos. Because even at full speed, we cannot outrun climate change. Its impacts are already here – compounding and cascading.A drought can quickly become a food crisis. A storm can become a debt crisis.A heatwave can become a public health emergency.Adaptation is essential.It saves lives, safeguards homes and communities, helps economies absorb shocks and holds societies together.Yet adaptation has long been framed as charity.That’s wrong.Climate impacts are already reshaping development, stability and security.They are straining food and water systems, disrupting supply chains, pressuring public finances, and deepening fragility.We must respond accordingly. Adaptation must be built into national planning and decision-making – from development strategies to regulation. We need more effective insurance and risk-sharing systems. We need contingency systems that can act before shocks become humanitarian and economic catastrophes. We need better preparation before disaster strikes and to fully implement our Early Warnings for All Initiative. And developed countries need to deliver on their long-standing commitment to double adaptation finance – with a clear trajectory toward tripling it.That leads to the sixth point -- all of this requires finance at the scale, speed, and fairness that both crises demand.Today, the global financial system is failing the countries that need support most.  It overprices risk – and underprices opportunity.Many developing countries face borrowing costs for clean energy and resilience that can run two to three times more than in wealthier economies.Countries rich in renewable potential are being locked out of the clean energy revolution.Look no further than the vast African continent. Africa is home to 60 per cent of the world’s best solar resources. Thirty per cent of critical minerals. And one-fifth of humanity.Yet it receives just two per cent of global clean energy investment.At the same time, more than 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity.This is unjust and a lost opportunity for Africa and the world.Developed countries must keep their promises, including support to the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage and the Green Climate Fund.The $300 billion pledged to developing countries must be delivered – with concrete steps to mobilize $1.3 trillion a year by 2035. In a world of shrinking aid, we must also unleash the catalytic role of Multilateral Development Banks and the wider development finance system to help fund long-term infrastructure such as grids, mass transit, and water systems. Recent reforms and policy decisions have increased the lending capacity of Multilateral Development Banks by $600-800 billion. They must use it aggressively to finance the infrastructure of the future and climate adaptation.They must also adapt their instruments to match the scale and timeframe of the challenge, including [providing] 50-year finance where needed. And we must go further.The lending capacity of Multilateral Development Banks must be further boosted by their shareholders, including through bold recapitalization and further reforms.  In the face of shrinking fiscal space, every public dollar must work harder and be used more creatively to unlock private capital. That means scaling up guarantees, local currency financing, blended finance and other risk-sharing instruments to lower the cost of capital and crowd in private investment – especially in developing countries where risks are perceived as high. It means drawing on additional sources of finance – from solidarity levies on high-emitting sectors, to debt-for-climate swaps, to carbon market revenues, to mobilizing philanthropy.  And it means ensuring that all financial institutions - public and private – align their operations with the Paris Agreement and the realities of a warming world.  In the end, the test is simple:  We must move capital to developing countries at the speed, scale, and affordability that the times demand to respond to the climate crisis, unleash stronger more resilient growth, and advance the Sustainable Development Goals. Seventh, and finally, we must protect science – and truth itself.Science has given humanity the ability to understand the risks before catastrophe strikes. Yet disinformation is spreading – deliberately – to delay climate action, entrench vested interests, and erode trust. We must act to protect scientific independence; Strengthen trust in evidence and institutions; Safeguard human rights defenders and journalists reporting on climate and the environment; And ensure everyone has access to reliable, credible and science-based information.The United Nations has launched the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change to help do just that. Facts matter. Science matters.  Information integrity matters.Dear friends,Let me conclude where I began – with Dickens. For the climate agenda, this is indeed the best of times and the worst of times. The worst – because climate impacts are intensifying, tipping points are looming, and the energy crisis has exposed the deep risks of dependence on fossil fuels.  But also the best – because the renewables revolution is well underway.  A revolution of clean power, electrification, falling costs, rising ambition – and vast opportunity.A revolution that can free countries from the volatility of fossil fuel markets, expand access to energy, strengthen security, create jobs, clean the air, restore ecosystems, and bring a safer future within reach. We have the enormous opportunity – and responsibility -- to turn this Tale of Two Crises into a single story of resolve, fairness and shared progress.We can finally turn the page on fossil fuels – and write a future powered by renewables and rooted in climate justice.This is our moment of choice.  Our moment of truth.  Our moment of opportunity.  Let’s seize it.  Thank you.*****[source]

Today we pay tribute to 136 United Nations personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty last year.We are deeply grateful to be joined by many of their family members — both here in New York, and online around the world.Your presence reminds us that for every life lost, there are people left behind: bonds of love and friendship that endure.Our thoughts are with you today, and every day.Please join me in a moment of silence to honour our fallen colleagues.[PAUSE]Thank you.The women and men we commemorate today include 97 civilian personnel and 39 uniformed peacekeepers – military and police.They came from 32 countries: diverse in background, but united in purpose.Among them, 80 served with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Gaza.More UN colleagues have been killed in Gaza than in any other conflict or disaster in the history of the United Nations.Some died alongside their families in their homes, or in the places they sought refuge. Others were killed while carrying out their duties – in offices, in shelters, and in the communities they served.These tragedies weigh heavily on us all – and should  be remembered by the entire world.Let me be clear. UN personnel must never be targeted. Attacks on peacekeepers and humanitarian workers are a violation of international law, including international humanitarian law.We reaffirm our unwavering commitment for the security and safety of UN personnel everywhere, and we will never stop demanding accountability.In keeping with long-standing practice, we have sought the consent of families to read aloud the names of those we honour.Tragically, in the case of many who served with UNRWA, we could not reach those families, because they too have been killed or forced to flee.Instead, we remember these staff through their work:They were teachers educating children.Medical workers healing the sick and injured.Drivers delivering aid.And many, many more.Dear friends,The United Nations was founded on a simple truth: that working together – to advance sustainable development, to promote human rights, to secure justice – makes the world more peaceful and humane.It is also a promise that when bombs fall, or floods rise, or children have nothing to eat – someone will reach out their hand.It takes a special kind of person to uphold that promise.The colleagues we mourn today chose to serve in some of the most difficult and dangerous places on Earth – because they understood that the world does not improve unless someone strives to improve it.It has been the privilege of my life to work alongside people like them – and people like you.Dear colleagues,This is my final annual staff memorial as Secretary-General.For ten years, I have seen our Organization face down challenge after challenge.A global pandemic.Economic upheaval.Climate chaos. And some of the most brutal conflicts in years.But through it all, the constant has been the women and men of the United Nations: people prepared with open eyes and open hearts, to risk it all in the name of others.We live in a moment when multilateralism is under attack. When powerful forces would have us believe that the United Nations – that unity itself – is a pipedream.The people we commemorate today prove otherwise.Amidst all the fear and the doubt, they knew exactly how to live:We must be brave enough to take a stand.Kind enough to care for others.And dedicated enough to keep showing up.Courage, compassion, and commitment.These are the qualities that defined your loved ones. These are the highest instincts of humankind.Today, we commit to carrying forward their work.To our departed colleagues and friends: thank you.You made our world a better place.We will remember you – now and always.Thank you.*****[source]

 Excellencies,The report I present today reflects a shared journey over nearly a decade.A journey marked by change.By difficult choices. And by steady, determined transformation. We began in 2017 with a clear objective: to ensure that the UN development system could support countries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.The reports I presented at that time provided a candid diagnosis.The system was too fragmented when coherence was required.Too internally competitive when collaboration was essential.Too limited in structure and capacity to effectively respond to the needs of countries and people.  Reaching our objective required ambition.It required:Closely aligning the UN development system with the Sustainable Development Goals themselves;Using the Pact for the Future to guide us, particularly its emphasis on better use of digital technology and Artificial Intelligence;Better aligning functions to country priorities;Strengthening capacities to deliver on country needs, enabling UNDP to focus on operational delivery;  And ensuring effective leadership and coordination within UN Country Teams.Together, with the strong support and guidance of Member States and colleagues across the system, we have reshaped how we operate. At the centre stands a strengthened Resident Coordinator system — empowered, independent, accountable and equipped to meet Member States’ expectations.Cooperation Frameworks are enabling the system to work more closely around national priorities.The UN development system has strengthened its coordination and responses.And we’ve reinforced accountability and transparency across the system.Together, the UN and Member States agreed on a Funding Compact — to provide more flexibility and predictability of resources to allow the system to work better together.The report I am presenting today demonstrates the results of these reforms.Recent surveys show that 94 per cent of governments now assess UN development system support as effective.The share of host governments recognizing Resident Coordinators as effective entry points to the UN system increased from 62 per cent in 2019 to 90 per cent in 2025.And 80 per cent of host governments report solid UN support in transformative areas — from food, health and education, to digital learning and climate action. These results are reflected in people’s lives:More people receiving food assistance.More children gaining access to education.More individuals and families benefitting from social protection.And more national institutions better able to deliver on development.We have also made progress on efficiency.In 2025 alone, UN entities reported well over $900 million in efficiency gains, including by streamlining services and supply chains, increasing the use of shared services and other measures. We will continue to relentlessly ensure sound financial stewardship of funds in the most effective and impactful way possible. Excellencies,The United Nations development system today is more coherent, more accountable and more closely aligned with national priorities than it has ever been before.But with less than 1,700 days until the 2030 deadline, many countries face growing pressures — slowing growth, rising vulnerabilities and debts, greater exposure to shocks, and shrinking fiscal space.

At the same time, development financing is declining at an unprecedented pace.The system is better equipped — but increasingly under-resourced. This is a defining moment.The direction we choose will determine whether the progress of the past decade holds — or unravels.I see four areas where action is essential to ensure the UN can deliver with the scale and urgency needed. First — more effective alignment with country and regional priorities.Despite best efforts, the UN development system remains fragmented.This limits the ability of UN Country Teams to provide integrated responses.Capacities present in country are not always the capacities needed to deliver the support required — including because Country Teams are responding to earmarked funding and project-based approaches.The work of regional teams often remains disconnected from needs on the ground.Missed opportunities persist to unlock development resources by working together more efficiently.This is why we must bring reforms to the finish line — and raise their ambition.At the country level, we will continue reconfiguring Country Teams around Cooperation Frameworks with clear, sequenced targets and strategic funding pathways.This also means more and better expertise that is easily accessible and better able to support governments in their development efforts.At the regional level, we will bridge the gap between regional capabilities and country-level impact.Regional Platforms for Integration will unite capacities across development, humanitarian, and peace and security into light, responsive mechanisms — built to provide timely, agile support to countries.This means no change in — or confusion of — mandates.Our goal is to ensure countries can access assets across the UN system to deal with complex challenges.To do this, we are recalibrating the leadership and capacities of the Resident Coordinator system.We must ensure that Resident Coordinators can optimally lead Country Teams in fast-evolving contexts and apply the full extent of the UN development system’s support on key issues, including climate change.  We are also assessing potential mergers — between UNDP and UNOPS, and UNFPA and UN Women — to strengthen our ability to advance sustainable development and gender equality, while advocating for the rights of women, girls and youth.At every step, we will respect mandates, consult with Member States and ensure that reforms do not affect ongoing UN operations.  Second — we are continuing the next phase of reform under the UN80 initiative.UN80 contains key proposals to identify efficiencies and ensure a greater share of our resources — human and financial — are allocated for development results.These include:Joint knowledge hubs to streamline knowledge in priority areas;An expertise-on-demand mechanism for countries to access specialized UN capacity;A unified service roadmap to expand shared services;And a technology accelerator platform and a system-wide data commons so countries can access the tools and information they need.These are practical measures designed to channel more resources and capacity towards results on the ground. As we push forward on these important reforms, we will continue counting on the full engagement and support of Member States.Third — funding.Contributions to the UN development system suffered the highest cuts among all development partners and are projected to decline further this year.Core funding remains well below agreed targets.Most funding continues to be short-term and tightly ear-marked — limiting flexibility and undermining collective priorities.And the RC system remains underfunded and dependent mostly on voluntary contributions — and facing a $46 million shortfall in 2025.This places coordinated delivery at risk. While the provision of $53 million from the regular budget for the RC system was a step in the right direction, it is not sufficient.Sustainable structural change cannot rely on temporary measures.We need more stable, predictable and flexible funding.I urge Member States to reach the 30 per cent core funding target called for by the Funding Compact, and help equip the system to deliver and succeed. Excellences,Excellencies,Quatrièmement : dans les dernières années qui nous séparent de 2030, les États Membres doivent continuer à tout mettre en œuvre pour réaliser les Objectifs de développement durable.And fourth — in these final years towards 2030, we need Member States themselves to continue the push to achieve the SDGs. Alors que se poursuit la réforme de l’Organisation, les États Membres doivent donner des orientations cohérentes aux organes directeurs du système des Nations Unies pour le développement.While the UN is reforming, Member States need to give coherent guidance across governing bodies of the UN development system.Ils doivent également veiller à ce que leurs budgets nationaux soient axés sur le développement, la création d’emplois, l’éducation et l’élimination de la pauvreté.They also need to ensure their national budgets are targeted to development, job-creation, education and poverty-eradication.Face à l’augmentation incontrôlée des dépenses militaires, les pays doivent redéfinir leurs priorités en investissant davantage dans les instruments de paix et de développement et moins dans les instruments de destruction et de mort.In the context of today’s out-of-control military spending, countries need to reprioritize, and spend more on the instruments of peace and development and less on the instruments of destruction and death.Je demande une fois encore aux États Membres de soutenir nos efforts visant à réformer l’architecture financière mondiale et à apporter un véritable allègement de la dette aux pays qui en sont accablés.And I renew my call to Member States to support our efforts to reform the global financial architecture and deliver meaningful debt relief to countries swamped by debt.Adopté l’an dernier, l’Engagement de Séville a montré la voie à suivre. J’invite tous les pays à tenir cette grande promesse pour les pays en développement.Last year’s Sevilla Commitment pointed the way forward, and I call on all countries to translate its great promise into reality for developing countries. Excellences,Excellencies, Ces dix dernières années nous ont montré que le changement était possible.Our experience over the past decade has shown that change is possible. Le système que nous avons construit est plus solide, mais son succès exige des efforts, un engagement et un soutien continus.The system we have built is stronger — but its success depends on continued effort, commitment and support.En bref, pour que la réforme aboutisse, nous devons continuer à travailler ensemble.In short, reform can work — but we need to keep working together.Poursuivons l’édification d’un système de développement plus solide et plus efficace, qui soit au service des pays et des populations du monde entier.Let’s continue building a stronger and more effective development system that delivers for countries and people everywhere.Je vous remercie.Thank you. *****[source]

 Your Excellency, Vice-President of ECOSOC,Excellencies,We meet at a moment of extraordinary pressure and rising expectations for sustainable development and our UN system.Countries are grappling with escalating crises, rising debt burdens and widening inequalities across regions, even as the urgency to deliver on the 2030 Agenda intensifies.Just as demands are escalating, sharp declines in official development assistance are forcing difficult decisions on UN operational presence and capacity across the globe.In many countries, entities are scaling back their presence, which makes access to the UN’s specialized capacities all the more important.It is precisely in such a moment that coordinated support matters most. It is what ensures Member States continue to have access to the UN’s expertise whether or not the entity sits in their country.Eight years ago, Member States tasked the Resident Coordinators with leading this effort. And the Secretary-General reiterated the progress in this regard earlier today.The evidence in the reports leaves little room for doubt: dedicated, independent, and impartial development coordination delivers.Under the leadership of Resident Coordinators, the UN development system scaled up its support to meet ever-higher expectations, and grew more effective at it.93 per cent of host governments affirmed that Resident Coordinators provided strengthened leadership, an increase of nearly 30 percentage points since the reforms in 2019.Recognition of Resident Coordinators as the entry point to the entire UN system rose from 62 per cent to 90 per cent over the same period.We have continued to empower Resident Coordinators to strengthen their leadership. We have increased the representation of Resident Coordinators from programme countries – now 59%. And 55% of Resident Coordinators are women.These results are down to your leadership, the guidance given to the system through successive resolutions since 2019, and your robust engagement with the system at every level.Let me turn to the road ahead. Through UN80, there is a clear imperative to keep strengthening the Resident Coordinator system. The Secretary-General and I heard resounding support for this last week at the meeting hosted by the PGA.The success of many of the UN80 packages will rest with the Resident Coordinators and their teams putting these changes into practice in country: from shaping UN country teams in close coordination with national governments, to bringing in non-resident capacities through expertise on demand mechanisms.Resident coordinators will have a vital role in delivering on the ambition of UN80, and helping the system deliver these changes in over 160 countries.They stand ready to work with the system to leverage the opportunities presented to better connect to the regional architecture through the regional reset, harness the work of the data commons, and bring in thematic knowledge and analysis through the Joint Knowledge Hubs.Excellencies,We must also be attuned to the challenges before us and the imperative to address them.Let me start by highlighting four ways the RC system has supported more effective system-wide responses to needs in countries.First, Resident Coordinators drew on the system’s policy expertise to drive shifts to advance national development priorities and the SDGs.Resident coordinators worked with UN country teams across diverse country contexts from LDCs, LLDC, MICs to SIDS, and more.And across all developing countries, UN country teams, under the leadership of Resident Coordinators, continued to support the SDG acceleration through integrated policy advice.Second, Resident Coordinators brokered partnerships to scale up development support and unlock catalytic financing.They worked with country teams and partners to open the door to public and private investment, and continued to bring together diverse sets of stakeholders to advance national SDG efforts.They unlocked resources of the Joint SDG Fund and other pooled funds to deliver more coherent programming.This past year, the Fund supported the expansion of social assistance to more than a million people in Uzbekistan, delivered over a million health treatments for adolescent girls in Kenya, and launched Jordan’s first national food-security information system.Third, Resident Coordinators bridged development, humanitarian and peacebuilding action in countries beset by compounding crisis, risking their development trajectory.Across the world, 28 Resident Coordinators also serve as humanitarian coordinators or Deputy Special Representatives of the Secretary-General in mission settings.When disaster struck - Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, wildfires in Chile - Resident Coordinators led the first response while humanitarian assistance was being scaled up.In Cameroon, the Resident Coordinator’s convening role produced a single support framework coordinating humanitarian, development and stabilization efforts.And where missions closed - in Iraq, Mali, and Sudan - Resident Coordinators have taken the lead guiding UN country teams with fewer resources at a critical juncture.The RCs are reinforced by DCO’s surge capacity, which has been critical.Based in the regions, this surge capacity lets DCO give rapid support to countries when the context changes, bringing in the skills needed.Fourth, Resident Coordinators helped the UN development system deliver efficiencies and greater transparency for Member States.         In 2025, the share of UN buildings operating as common premises in countries rose to 33 per cent, accommodating 57 per cent of UN personnel.Part of these efforts contributed to the $981.1 million in efficiency gains in 2025, more than three times the target set at the outset of reform, and the highest total ever reported.While this figure is striking, and has been triple checked, our journey does not end there. Resident Coordinators will be at the forefront of efforts to keep bringing UN entities together in country behind the system wide efficiency initiatives.Last but not least, transparency on the work of the RC system and UN country teams was unprecedented.Digital platforms and annual reporting by UN country teams now provide a clear window in progress advancing Cooperation Frameworks in countries.Importantly, all Member States today have visibility and can guide the work of the RC system with unparalleled oversight through ECOSOC and the General Assembly.Excellencies,The Resident Coordinator system has undoubtedly delivered on the guidance you have given for their leadership in country. However, the demands placed on it, the evolving global context and the stark diagnosis of what is needed to deliver on the 2030 Agenda necessitated a review of the system.The recalibration is meant to strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of the system, and to sharpen its ability to respond to the mandates you – Member States - have set.Your feedback and insights are shaping its design, and we will keep engaging with you as it advances.We envision change across three reinforcing levels.At country level, RCO profiles of core functions will be tailored to specific country needs; and the share of national staff raised.The aim is to bring in the right capacities for the specific country context. Reflecting on the specific needs of LDCs, LLDCs, SIDS, and complex settings, more specific capacities will be brought in to match – for example a specialist in World Bank collaboration, or convening for SDG Financing.At the regional level, DCO teams will be reconfigured to deliver faster and more targeted support to RCOs, support to subregional priorities, and enable better policy coherence, particularly for SDG financing.At headquarters, DCO will streamline its leadership structure, consolidate data and digital capacities, step up support for efficiency efforts across the UN development system, and strengthen accountability to Member States.Across all three levels, the focus will be on embracing innovation and stepping up efforts to make better use of data, digital solutions, and foresight to inform decision-making.This is about delivering an RC system that can support countries as they respond to not only today’s challenges but future ones.Excellencies,A word, now, on what is making this harder. The system has never been fully resourced to $281m, and has had to keep implementing cost mitigation measures to reduce the impact of the shortfalls. The system remains largely dependent on voluntary contributions, which in 2025 fell to their lowest level since the system was established.The 1% levy on earmarked resources has structural flaws, low compliance rates, high administrative costs, and an over-reliance on aid flows. The variability of these two streams continues to hamper the ability of the system to plan and deploy resources. Only 64% of RC offices were fully staffed in 2025.Despite funding cuts, UNSDG entities paid their shares of the cost sharing arrangement.The 53 million dollars from the regular budget granted in 2024 and renewed in 2025 provides an essential backstop for the system.But it did not close the funding gap.In 2025, the system faced a shortfall of $46 million US dollars.Funding reached just $236 million against a requirement of $281 million.The comprehensive review of the funding model, which the General Assembly takes up in the fall at its eighty-first session, is the moment to act and strengthen the RC system.Initial analysis was already presented to you in the Secretary-General’s QCPR report, and will be detailed further in his forthcoming report to the General Assembly.The RC system is the most cost-effective investment we have for delivering sustainable development at scale, at roughly 1.3 per cent of total UN operational expenditure – a very modest cost for system-wide coherence and impact.Excellencies,We have entered the final stretch of the 2030 Agenda, and simply cannot afford to lose ground.The UN80 Initiative offers fresh momentum to consolidate the system’s support to countries and turn the page on the unfinished business of the 2018 reforms.The question before us is no longer whether coordination works.The question is whether we will equip our coordination system to deliver with the scale and urgency you need.Thank you.*****