Dhaka , Bangladesh ( CNN ) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged global leaders Monday to launch a multibillion-dollar climate fund agreed to last year in Cancun , Mexico . The U.N. chief made the call as he attended a conference of climate vulnerable countries held here in the Bangladesh capital . Representatives from 20 countries attended the ministerial level meeting inaugurated by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina . Ban said , `` We are in the middle of a serious economic crisis . But even in these difficult times , we can not afford delay . We can not ask the poorest and the most vulnerable to bear the costs . '' `` The Green Climate Fund needs to be launched in Durban . An empty shell is not sufficient , '' he said . `` Governments must lead the way to catalyze the $ 100 billion dollars per annum from public and private sources that was pledged to 2020 , '' he said . He urged the governments to find a compromise on the Kyoto Protocol on climate change at a Durban climate conference and to make a broader comprehensive climate agreement possible in the future . `` Durban must complete what was agreed last year in Cancun , '' he said at the Climate Vulnerable Forum-2011 . The two-day CVF conference began Sunday , aiming to reach consensus on various climate issues and an agreement to work together at the 17th Conference of the Parties ( COP-17 ) to be held in Durban , South Africa , beginning November 28 . Ban said adaptation must be a priority for all countries , but especially the most vulnerable . `` They need help with resources and technology , '' he said . The conference of the alliance of the 26 most vulnerable countries to climate change , ended with the adoption of a 14-point Dhaka Ministerial Declaration . Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina expressed her frustration over a slow and inadequate progress of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) process to confront the daunting challenges of climate change , and she called for setting criteria to prioritize vulnerable countries based on their risks and lack of coping capacities . `` We see no evidence of direct and easy access to funds and technology , and conditions and criteria seem to favor countries that have greater capacities ... most vulnerable countries are failing to access whatever support that are being realized , '' she said . The CVF members expressed their determination to stand indivisible to face causes , consequences and collateral effects of climate change in their declaration . They reiterated firm resolve to work collectively with the other Parties to the UNFCCC towards limiting foreseeable global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels , peaking global green house gas emissions by 2015 . Briefing reporters after the conference , the Bangladesh state minister for environment and forests , Dr. Hasan Mahmud , said , `` We have decided to raise our voice together on various contentious issues in Durban '' . The declaration said climate change induced displacement of people has become a major concern , and the relocation and rehabilitation of those people is putting enormous pressure on infrastructures and service facilities , as well as causing tremendous social stresses . It said migration is a viable adaptation strategy to manage risks during displacement and relocation and affected populations should be offered enhanced options leading to a dignified and diversified livelihood . The Climate Vulnerable Forum was founded at the initiative of the Maldives in 2009 and 26 countries , mostly from the group called the Least Developed Countries , have joined the forum so far . The CVF members include Antigua , Barbuda , Bangladesh , Barbados , Bhutan , Costa Rica , Ethiopia , Ghana , Grenada , Guyana , Kenya , Kiribati , Liberia , Maldives , Marshall Islands , Micronesia , Nepal , Philippines , Rwanda , Saint Lucia , Samoa , Solomon Islands , Tanzania , Timor-Leste , Tuvalu , Vanuatu and Vietnam .
The ministers come from nations considered most vulnerable to climate change . An important world - wide climate change meeting is set up in South Africa . The ministers agreed to stand united on a number of key issues .