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wants and needs must move from the fringes of the financial community into the mainstream and limited public finance needs to leverage private sector flows many times over. There will be several keys to unlock the finance. Policy is one and will require national governments to integrate climate and sustainability across ministries – it can no longer be the business of just the environment or development ministries, but must be embraced by all including finance.It is happening: in the Pacific, for example, improved government policies are set to trigger more than US$2 billion of new investment in cleaner and more affordable energy systems by 2024.The way financial markets price risk and reward sustainability also need re-tooling and re-calibrating for a new economy that properly prices pollution and environmental degradation and rewards real wealth generation consistent with the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.There are positive signals here too, upon which the international community can build, including the work of the Financial Stability Board which is engaging so many leading thinkers including governors of central banks. A new report by the UN Environment Programme estimates that the total number of policy and regulatory measures aimed at building a more sustainable financial system, has more than doubled in the past five years. Indeed, measures by finance ministries, central banks and regulators to promote sustainable finance have risen to 217 and now exist in nearly 60 countries. These range from actions steering finance towards clean energy, assessments of climate risk for insurance companies up to producing road maps that set out how to ‘green’ an entire financial system as China outlined at the recent G20 Summit.With the Paris Agreement, climate change has moved from being the preoccupation of the few to a global challenge and a glimpse into a better and more sustainable world.COP22 provides the next staging post towards a shared vision of overcoming poverty, generating sustainable prosperity and being far smarter about managing risks.It will not be easy – there will be many bumps on the road, but we have a clear direction, know a great deal of what needs to be done and see a level of momentum which, if maintained, can carry the planet and its people across the winning tape.“COP22 PROVIDES THE NEXT STAGING POST TOWARDS A SHARED VISION OF OVERCOMING POVERTY, GENERATING SUSTAINABLE PROSPERITY AND BEING FAR SMARTER ABOUT MANAGING RISKS”As we celebrate the entry into force of the Paris Agreement in historic Marrakech, our window of opportunity is wide open, but it will not stay that way unless we take the next, vigorous steps on a new and exciting journey that has just begun. ■ABOUT THE AUTHOROn 18 May 2016, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Patricia Espinosa of Mexico as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Ms Espinosa took office on 18 July 2016. Ambassador of Mexico to Germany since 2012 and from 2001 to 2002, Ms Espinosa was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico from 2006 to 2012, bringing more than 30 years of experience at highest levels in international relations, specialized in climate change, global governance, sustainable development, gender equality and protection of human rights. As Mexico’s representative on multilateral bodies and international organizations in Vienna, Geneva and New York, Ms Espinosa has been engaged as leader in the global challenge to address climate change and its consequences, notably as Chair of the 16th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC leading to the adoption of the Cancun Agreements. Named by the UN Secretary-General to the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post 2015 Development Agenda, she is a tireless supporter of multilateralism as a way to improve conditions for development in all regions of the world, understanding the inextricable link between the aims of the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. Elected Chair of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly (1996) she played a key role in the process leading to the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action at the 4th World Conference on Women. Previous Ambassador of Mexico to Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia and UN Organisations in Vienna (2002-2006), she was Chief of Staff to the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1989-1991) and responsible for economic issues at the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the UN in Geneva (1982-1988). She has postgraduate studies in International Law from the Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales in Geneva and is holder of a Degree in International Relations from El Colegio de Mexico. FOREWORD 015