2015: “Once in a generation opportunity for the UN”, says Eliasson

13 November 2014.The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Jan Eliasson, has warned that when it comes to climate change and sustainable development,"there is no Planet B".

Mr. Eliasson has been on a visit to Germany, giving a lecture in Berlin and visiting the United Nations Organizations in Bonn, 10-12 November. In Berlin, the Deputy Secretary-General gave the 2014 Wily Brandt Lecture at the Humboldt University. In the lecture Mr. Eliasson talked about "A World in turmoil and transition" and the challenges for the UN and its member states. 

"The year 2015 represents a once-in-a generation opportunity for the UN and its Member States. Our goal is to place people in the centre and to protect our one and only planet. We may have a Plan B sometimes – but there is simply no Planet B.” 

Yesterday the Deputy Secretary-General travelled to Bonn where he met with UN Bonn staff in a town hall meeting as well as the Heads of all UN organizations based in Germany. The Deputy Secretary-General´s discussion with the Bonn based UN entities focused on next year´s challenges, when the UN expects to see three major new policy frameworks to be put in place. These are: a new framework for sustainable development succeeding the Millennium Development Goals, a new climate change agreement and a new framework for disaster risk reduction.

 The Chair of the Heads of UN agencies in Germany Mr. Shyamal Majumdar pointed out in the discussion that “the 18 UN agencies based in Bonn are at the centre of the negotiation processes related to these frameworks and will continue to play a central role in bringing stakeholders from around the world to discuss sustainable development in a more holistic fashion”.

The Deputy Secretary-General stated at the town hall meeting towards the UN staff in Bonn “the work that the United Nations Organizations in Bonn deliver is very important for us - the UN. You deal with future issues and sustainability. The latter is one of our major and crucial issues”. When concluding Mr. Eliasson encouraged the UN staff in their daily work “nobody can do everything but everybody can do something”. Mr. Majumdar concluded along these lines “here in Bonn we share one common aspiration. This is to make a united stand as OneUN inBonn for an inclusive sustainable future for all. This makes our place unique in the world”.

The UN in Bonn consists of 18 agencies and spans a vast area of work of the United Nations, including climate change, land desertification, global volunteerism, water, energy, endangered species, human security, health, biodiversity, tourism, education and skills development, peace, sustainability, disaster risk management and satellite-based information systems.

Photos: ©2014 UNBonn/Daniela Danetzki