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Summary Report
IISD Reporting Services (IISD RS) will be producing a summary report from this meeting on 7 September 2009.
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7 Sep. 2009
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WCC-3
World Climate Conference-3 (WCC-3)

31 August - 4 September 2009 | Geneva, Switzerland

HIGHLIGHTS FROM FRIDAY, 4 SEPTEMBERWCC-3

Throughout Friday, delegates heard high-level statements from ministers, heads of international organizations and other high-level officials. On Friday afternoon, Armando Emílio Guebuza, President of Mozambique, opened the closing session of the conference. Maciej Nowicki, Polish Environment Minister and President of the 14th Conference of the Parties (COP 14) of the UNFCCC, highlighted the scientific contributions of the conference and the importance of the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) as a tool for connecting user groups to science. He called for delegates to do all they can to reach an effective agreement in Copenhagen. Ambassador Marie-Louis Overvad, Denmark, underscored the role of the GFCS to provide tools to empower people to assess vulnerability, understand risk and make well-informed decisions. She called for global leadership to realize an ambitious climate agreement.

John Zillman, Chair, WCC-3 International Organizing Committee, explained that the conference was organized to bring about a paradigm shift towards delivering user-oriented climate information and services. He highlighted the strong support from governments and international organizations for the proposed GFCS. Michel Jarraud, WMO, stressed that the declaration adopted at the meeting was concise, and outlinined a clear path forward for establishing the GFCS. He noted that the tools and services to be provided by the GFCS were cross-sectoral and would contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Moritz Leuenberger, Switzerland, noted that the declaration adopted allowed for a structure that will enhance the ability to provide information to meet current needs. President Armando Emílio Guebuza said the GFCS demonstrates commitment to address climate change and capacity building in developing countries. He highlighted that it contributed to the international commitment to reach the MDGs and that it will be an important building block for a Copenhagen agreement. He closed the conference at 16:09.

WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud bids farewell to Armando Emílio Guebuza, President of Mozambique, after the adjournment of WCC-3.

High-level Segment
A mural painted for WCC-3
 
 
Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Secretary of State for Climate Change, Spain, and Robert Persaud, Minister of Agriculture, Guyana, co-chaired the morning plenary session
Amb. Jean-Baptiste Mattei, Permanent Representative of France to the UN
Catherine Namugala, Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources, Zambia
   
Amb. Rahma Salih Elobied, Sudan
Harsha Singh, Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organization
Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Efthimios Mitropoulos, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization
     
Eldana Sadvakasova, Vice-Minister for Environmental Protection, Kazakhstan
Jane Lubchenco, US Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh
 
Laurent Corbier, World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Frits Brouwer, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands with the WMO
   
Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Secretary of State for Climate Change, Spain, and Robert Persaud, Minister of Agriculture, Guyana, co-chaired the fourth plenary session
Francis Gurry, Director-General, World Intellectual Property Organization
   
 
 
     
Friday afternoon plenary session; left to right: Grégoire de Kalbermatten, Deputy Executive Secretary, UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Brian Gray, Assistant Deputy Minister, Science and Technology Branch, Canada, Rashed Ahmed ben Fahd, Minister of Environment and Water, UAE, Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary, UN Convention on Biological Diversity, and Roberto Acosta, Coordinator for the Adaptation, Technology and Science Programme, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
         
Jan Kubis, Executive Secretary, UNECE, Plenary Co-Chairs Jane Lubchenco, US, and Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, and members of the Secretariat
           
Closing of the Conference
Alexander Bedritsky, WMO President, Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General, WMO, Armando Emílio Guebuza, President of Mozambique, and Moritz Leuenberger, Federal Councillor and former Swiss President
             
Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General, WMO, Armando Emílio Guebuza, President of Mozambique
Moritz Leuenberger and Maciej Nowicki, Polish Environment Minister and COP 14 President
           
John Zillman, Chair of the WCC-3 International Organizing Committee
Amb. Marie-Louise Overvad, Permanent Representative to UNOG, Denmark
             
A view of the dais during the closing of the conference
               
Amb. Marie-Louise Overvad, Permanent Representative to UNOG, Denmark, and Buruhani Nyenzi, WCC-3 Director
 
             
Michel Jarraud, WMO Secretary-General
 
               
Applause and handshakes at the conclusion of the conference
Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General, WMO, Armando Emílio Guebuza, President of Mozambique
Michel Jarraud bids President Armando Emílio Guebuza farewell after the conclusion of the conference
                 
More Photos from 3 and 4 September
Our Polar Heritage Photo Exhibit (www.ourpolarheritage.com)
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with photographer Christian Morel, who photographed the exhibition "Our Polar Heritage"
Koichiro Matsura, Director-General, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
               
Prince Albert II of Monaco tours the photo exhibit "Our Polar Heritage"
Prince Albert II with WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud
               
 
 
                 
UN Secretary-General holds a press conference
Thomas Kolly, Switzerland, and Maciej Nowicki, Polish Environment Minister and COP 14 President
       
Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator, Maciej Nowicki, Minister of Environment, Poland, Lyonpo Gyamtsho, Minister of Agriculture, Bhutan, and Margaret Chan, Director-General, WHO
Margaret Chan, Director-General, WHO
WMO press conference
       
Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator, Maciej Nowicki, Minister of Environment, Poland
Asa-Britt Karlsson, State Secretary, Ministry of the Environment, Sweden, speaking for the European Union
           
A view of the dais during one of Thursday's plenary sessions
 
Emomalii Rakhmon, President of Tajikistan, meets with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
 
           
Batilda S. Burian, Minister of State in the Vice President's Office, Tanzania, with UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner
Jane Lubchenco, US Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere
             
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Koichiro Matsura, Director-General, UNESCO, Batilda S. Burian, Minister of State in the Vice President's Office, Tanzania, and Toke Talagi, Premier of Niue
Members of the press during a press conference
     
 
 
 
Related Links
WMO resources
Official site
Programme


UN resources
Gateway to the UN System’s Work on Climate Change
Informal Thematic Debate of the UN General Assembly on Climate Change as a Global Challenge

IISD RS resources
IISD RS coverage of the Bonn Climate Change Talks - August 2009, 1-12 June 2009, Bonn, Germany
IISD RS coverage of the Bonn Climate Change Talks - June 2009, 1-12 June 2009, Bonn, Germany
IISD RS summary report of the Thirtieth Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 21-23 April 2009, Antalya, Turkey (English: HTML - PDF) (Spanish: HTML - PDF) (Japanese: PDF)
IISD RS coverage of the Bonn Climate Change Talks - March/April 2009, 29 March - 8 April 2009, Bonn, Germany

IISD RS coverage of the UN Climate Change Conference - Poznań, 1-12 December 2008, Poznań, Poland
IISD RS climate and atmosphere page
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