Address by HE Ban Ki-moon, former UN Secretary General

Delivered by HE Ban Ki-moon, former UN Secretary General and Founder of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, at the OPEC Secretariat, 28 August 2019, Vienna, Austria.

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to be at the OPEC Secretariat and to have this opportunity to speak with you all today. I would like to thank the Secretary General, HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, for the kind invitation to come to this great institution.

In my remarks this afternoon, I would like to cover the ways in which OPEC can continue to support the multilateral system and make a significant contribution to addressing the challenges of our time.

Firstly, I would note the strong complementarity between the work of OPEC and the UN. Next year, OPEC will commemorate the 60th anniversary of its founding in Baghdad on the 14th of September 1960. This Organization came into being as a result of the joint action by several UN Member Countries. The Treaty establishing OPEC was registered at the UN Secretariat on 6 November 1962. Three years later, OPEC also established formal relations with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 1965.

OPEC has always sought to undertake its activities in strict conformity with the UN’s principles and purposes. Indeed, the OPEC Secretariat has been a regular participant in meetings of various institutions and agencies of the UN, particularly the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Over the years, OPEC has actively participated in UN sponsored climate change negotiations, particularly through its observer status at the ‘Conference of the Parties’ to the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change. I know Mr. Barkindo has been a veteran of these negotiations. As leader of Nigeria’s technical delegation to the UN climate change negotiations since 1991, Mr Barkindo contributed to producing the UNFCCC and the Kyoto protocol. He served as Chair of the Group of 77 and China at the UNFCCC and was elected to serve three terms as Vice President of the Conference of the Parties – COP13 (Bali, Indonesia), COP14 (Poznan, Poland) and COP15 (Copenhagen, Denmark), where he chaired the opening session attended by more than 100 heads of state and government.

Clearly, OPEC is an intergovernmental organization which takes the principles of multilateralism seriously. And this has been seen in the ‘Declaration of Cooperation’ and ‘Charter of Cooperation’ that you have agreed with 10 non-OPEC oil producing countries. Under this initiative, twenty four countries have come together to work for sustainable oil market stability in the interests of producers, consumers and the global economy.

We live in a world where the concept of multilateralism is under attack. However, the long experience of the UN and OPEC has shown that the peoples of the world stand to gain more by working together, respecting all nations, under a rules-based order.  Therefore, I encourage you to continue your outreach activities. Keep working with others and strengthen the relationships you already have. Listen to consumers. Promote dialogue. Respect all points of view. Reach consensus. These goals underpin your ‘Charter of Cooperation’ and I am particularly pleased of your commitment, under the Charter, to intensify efforts on “improving the environmental credentials” of this industry, a theme which I will return to later.

I am also very aware, from my many years of working at the UN Secretariat, that an organization is only as good as its staff. At the UN, I was always inspired by the dedication and talent of our tremendous staff. Talent management is of pivotal importance to any organization. I am sure that is no different here.

I therefore make an appeal to all managers here to value talented staff and prioritize staff welfare. Create an environment which allows them to fulfil their potential. Promote diversity and inclusivity.

On this issue, there is enormous potential for streamlining the efforts of the UN and OPEC with regard to Human Resource issues. I would encourage your relevant experts to remain in close contact with the UN’s International Civil Service Commission (ICSC). The ICSC has performed studies, produced analytical papers and made recommendations on policies and practices related to talent management, which I am sure would be of interest here.

Ladies and gentlemen,

It was a great honour for me to launch the Sustainable Energy for All initiative in 2011. Subsequently, SEforALL has evolved into an international organization working with leaders in government, the private sector and civil society to drive further, faster action toward achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), which calls for universal access to sustainable energy by 2030, and the Paris Agreement, which calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit climate warming to below 2° Celsius.

We should never forget that energy poverty remains a scourge of our time. Nearly one billion people worldwide do not have access to electricity. Around 3 billion people do not have access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking.

Meeting the growing need for transport infrastructure and services, particularly in the developing world, and protecting vulnerable populations from extreme heat through cooling, in a sustainable manner is not straightforward. However, I believe energy efficiency and technological innovation will be critical in this regard. The oil industry can demonstrate its recognition that there is ‘no planet B’ by supporting energy efficiency policies and providing financial backing to such measures.

I am aware that OPEC is keen to further facilitate dialogue and information exchange on this topic. I hope the Organization will prioritize energy efficiency as a means of unlocking our carbon free future.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Ours is a complex world and the solutions to the problems which the globe faces are not simple. We need comprehensive responses, which involve all stakeholders of goodwill. I think OPEC should take pride in its role in the multilateral system and continue to work closely with the UN. Above all, I hope the Organization can recommit itself to addressing the climate challenge. Undoubtedly, there are expertise here which can help us build a better future. Allow me to offer my assurances that the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens stands ready to act as partner in your pursuance of this noble goal.

Thank you for your kind attention and best of luck to all of you in your future endeavours.