This year?s Commonwealth Day theme is ?The Environment Our Future? ? it could not be more relevant ? we all have to take urgent action today to guarantee tomorrow?s future. Commonwealth States share the same dilemma. We need to find a way to grow and develop our economies without destabilising the climate, and destroying the foundations that underpin our growth, stability and development. The only way out is, together, to build a low carbon global economy as soon as we can.

I look forward to working further with my fellow Commonwealth Heads of Government over the coming months to help deliver our Action Plan and achieve these goals. In particular, I want to continue to develop a shared understanding of what climate change will mean for our economies and societies; to draw on Commonwealth networks, so that we can explore the economic, social, and health opportunities, particularly for developing countries, of a transition to low carbon…

The Commonwealth brings together a critical cross-section of countries ? industrialised countries with significant greenhouse gas emissions, emerging economies, energy producers and poor and vulnerable states, some of whose very survival is directly threatened by climate change.

[We must] continue to build on the consensus we reached at CHOGM amongst Commonwealth States that a key component of our collective response must be to agree an ambitious and effective post-2012 global framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and a shared vision of what that agreement should include.

I wish you all a very happy Commonwealth Day.