Deputy Secretary-General's remarks at the Opening Session of the International Conference for Glaciers' Preservation [as delivered]

Your Excellency Mr. Emomali Rahmon, President of the Republic of Tajikistan,

Your Excellency, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr.  Shehbaz Sharif,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to the Government and the people of the Republic of Tajikistan for convening this High-Level International Conference and championing 2025 as the United Nations declared International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation.  

Mr. President, I thank you for the opportunity to visit the Glaciers in the Pamir mountain range. This was a reality check to how fragile the ecosystem is and needs preservation.

Your commitment to glaciers - the water towers of the world, holding nearly 70% of Earth’s freshwater - stands as a beacon of hope, towards keeping global momentum, securing our planet’s vital water sources, and raising urgent climate ambition.

A decade has passed since the world embraced the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement, setting out a bold vision for a more just, resilient, and sustainable future.

In spite of the recent geopolitical tensions and the pushback on multilateralism, this Conference convenes at a pivotal moment—with a decisive call to turn commitments into action, and shape the trajectory of our planet, economies, and the well-being of generations to come.

The time for ambition is an imperative now, and the stakes have never been higher.

Allow me to recognize the invaluable contributions of the World Meteorological Organization, UNESCO, the Asian Development Bank, and all other dedicated partners whose collaboration has made this conference – and this growing momentum – possible.

Your steady dedication to glacier research and monitoring throughout the 2025-2034 Decade of Action on Cryosphere Sciences has been instrumental in raising awareness and advancing scientific knowledge to safeguard our planet’s equilibrium.

Excellencies, Friends,

Since 1975, over 9,000 billion tons of ice have disappeared – equivalent to a 25-meter-thick block covering all of Germany.

In the past six years, glaciers have been retreating at an unprecedented pace, marking the fastest loss in recorded history.

Between 2022 and 2024 alone, the world witnessed the largest three-year glacier mass loss ever observed – a staggering acceleration of ice melt.

At current rates, many glaciers may not survive this century, reshaping landscapes, ecosystems, livelihoods and water security on a global scale.

This is not just a mountain crisis – it is a slow-moving global catastrophe with far-reaching consequences for  planet and people.

Glacier loss threatens water and food security, biodiversity loss, infrastructure, and the stability and health of communities worldwide.

Billions of people depend on glaciers for drinking water, irrigation, livelihoods, and energy production, making their preservation essential for human survival and sustainable development.

Yet those at the frontline of glacier loss - primarily in developing regions - face the greatest injustices.

With shrinking water resources, vulnerable communities endure worsening poverty, forced migration, and harsh living conditions all while relying on glacier-fed supplies that are rapidly disappearing.

Melting glaciers also drive sea-level rise, endangering coastal megacities and displacing millions downstream.

Each millimeter of rising seas puts hundreds of thousands at risk of annual flooding and much more.

In my own country Nigeria, I witness firsthand the impact of sea level rise in Lagos, which is threatened and in the Niger Delta which as seen unprecedented changes in its ecosystem. And we also see states once not affected by flooding are experiencing them at unprecedented levels.

Beyond the physical impacts, glacier loss is also an erosion of culture, of history, and identity.

Communities tied to mountain landscapes face the disappearance of ancestral lands, traditional knowledge, and linguistic heritage, severing connections that have existed for generations.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

With a third of mountain ice already lost due to climate change, these consequences will only intensify without immediate mitigation measures to keep global temperatures within the 1.5 degrees threshold.

Let me note at this time 83% of these emissions for this mitigation agenda, are within the hands of 35 countries.

Stepping up our ambition and scaling up action is imperative, before dwindling water resources destabilize ecosystems and economic disruptions become irreversible.

Strategies for glacier preservation must enable integrated, inclusive, data-driven and locally grounded adaptation responses that meet the needs of those most vulnerable.

Investing in adaptation should be recognized as a catalyst of sustainable growth and resilience.

Yet, adaptation and risk reduction tools cannot succeed without sustained, predictable financing to support resilience-building at every level.

The upcoming Financing for Development Conference in Seville is an opportunity to make the Clarion Call, for more investment in adaptation a reality.

This year’s Global Assessment Report on disaster risk reduction informs us that “Resilience Pays”.

Every dollar spent on resilience enhances early warning systems, safeguards infrastructure, and protects livelihoods from extreme climate events. It reinforces food and water security and strengthens economies against future shocks.

But we must significantly scale up financing and investments – integrating risk reduction into core policy decisions.

Failing to invest now, will result in exponentially higher costs – ranging from economic loss, development setbacks to humanitarian crisis.

As we embark on the Decade for Glaciers’ Preservation, I have three messages:

First, let us ensure that this conference signals an urgent call to action, uniting multilateral cooperation and strategic global partnerships.

These partnerships should be engines for the design and delivery of ambitious, economy-wide Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – as we go to Belem in Brazil later this year. These should not only as climate pledges, but as investment of roadmaps that drive SDG implementation.

Second, ensure that your national climate plans set measurable adaptation targets across water, infrastructure, energy, and food systems to build resilience, secure financing, and protect livelihoods. These plans need to be linked to national budgets to optimize resource allocations, avert losses, and build institutional capacities to fill gaps in technical expertise but also to create an enabling environment for large scale and urgent investments.

Third, identify pipelines of market-ready investments, backed by high-quality data and evidence-based tools that forecast returns, demonstrate co-benefits for job creation and economic growth, and unlock new financial services.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Together, we can galvanize impactful solutions to safeguard the cryosphere, polar regions, and mountain ecosystems.

Early warning systems could be strengthened with hydro-climatic experts to reinforce datasets that help anticipate water-related risks and ensuring a constant state of preparedness to enable early action.

Data-driven predicative analytics and AI could also complement skills, while generating baselines that help identify and anticipate fault lines, aligning with the Secretary General’s Early Warnings for All initiative.

This year’s Fourth Financing for Development Conference presents an opportunity to ensure that development funding is not just allocated, but strategically risk-informed – across all types of shocks-strengthening resilience and safeguarding development gains.

Let us use other global milestones including – COP30 in Brazil, the Third UN Ocean Conference in Nice, the UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the Second World Summit on Sustainable Development in Doha, Qatar – to elevate political will and sharpen our focus on glaciers for people, planet and prosperity.

In conclusion, as we look forward to the 2026 UN Water Conference, co-hosted by Senegal and the United Arab Emirates, I also wish to recognize the co-hosts of the 2023 UN Water Conference - Tajikistan and the Netherlands - for their continued political commitment to the International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development 2018–2028.

Let us act with the urgency that SDG 6 demands by protecting water-related ecosystems.

The UN - as always - stands ready to ensure that we meet this target. For our communities, for our economies, for our children’s future and those yet born.

Let our children not know thirst.

Thank you.

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