“A decade of the Paris Agreement: Realising its social promise”, introductory remarks by Carlo Monticelli, Governor

As prepared for delivery

Excellencies, colleagues,

Ten years ago in Paris, the international community recognised something essential. Not only the urgency of climate change, but also that effective climate action must be people-centred, placing people at its core.

The Paris Agreement made this explicit. Its Preamble called on Parties to uphold human rights. To protect the vulnerable, to promote health, gender equality, women’s empowerment and intergenerational equity.

Today, the urgency remains because the climate crisis is intensifying. And the challenge is more complex, as budgets are tight and other development priorities are competing.

Because of all of this, it is even more important that every euro we invest deliver the greatest possible benefits for people, communities and our shared future.

That is why prioritising co-benefits matters — actions that serve several development goals at once. Actions that deliver strong impact and advance the social dimension of the Paris Agreement.

When we place people at the centre, we strengthen social cohesion. We ensure inclusive just transitions for all.

If in the next decade the Paris Agreement is to succeed, we must deepen its social foundations. Climate measures will only endure if they improve lives, protect the vulnerable, and reinforce the fabric of our societies.

This focus on co-benefits aligns naturally with the mandate of the Council of Europe Development Bank, the CEB.

The CEB was created in 1956 with an exclusively social mandate — to promote social cohesion in Europe by financing social investment projects that support vulnerable people.

Across our 43 member states, we translate social resilience into concrete actions. We do so in several ways:

• We identify climate co-benefits in investments in education, health, and housing.
• We design projects that address the social impacts of climate policies.
• We work to make sure the poorest households are not hit hardest by rising energy or transport costs.
• We ensure vulnerable groups can fully participate in — and benefit from — the transition as exemplified by our energy-efficient housing programmes in the Western Balkans.
• We help create new economic opportunities for workers and SMEs in regions undergoing industrial transition — as shown, for example, by our investments in entrepreneurship in coal regions in the Czech Republic.
• And we invest in critical social infrastructure. In Türkiye, just to quote one, we support climate-resilient health

In doing so, the CEB contributes directly to the Paris Agreement’s core promise: climate ambition must go hand in hand with social cohesion.

This insight is echoed across global initiatives — the Just Transition agenda, the European Green Deal, the ILO’s Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection.

All are converging on one crucial policy point: No climate transition is ultimately viable unless it is socially grounded.

The decade ahead will require MDBs and governments to adopt fully integrated transition strategies:

• Where renewable energy programmes also strengthen local labour markets and skills.
• Where flood-resilient infrastructure also improves access to essential services.
• Where housing investments also cut energy poverty and widen opportunities for vulnerable households.

Ten years from now, success will not be measured only in gigatons and Celsius degrees. It will also be measured in the resilience of communities. In fairness of opportunity. In the political sustainability of climate ambition.

The Paris Agreement gave us a framework. Our task in the decade ahead is to deliver its social promise.

Amid demographic pressures, security challenges, territorial disparities, and shrinking fiscal space across Europe and its neighbourhood, the CEB stands ready.

Ready to support our member states. Ready to strengthen social cohesion. Ready to drive equitable progress alongside climate action.

I wish you a productive discussion.