Statement by Mr Knut Arild Hareide, Minister of the Environment, Norway, Panel Discussion, COP10, Buenos Aires, 16.12.04

Technology and Climate Change

Dear friends,

Last week the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Dr. Wangari Maathai of Kenya. This was the first time that the Nobel Peace Prize3 Committee recognised the role of environment and sustainable development in the struggle for peace. For me the Peace Prize is yet another reason why we must siccessfully combat climate change.

It is important that we use the knowledge and resources at our disposal to develop and apply technological solutions at reasonable costs.

Technology must be part of any long-term solution to manmade climate change. It does not have to be a metter of reinventing the wheel. If today´s most efficient technologies were put to full use, this would already represent a giant leap forward in terms of reducing emissions.

It is a matter of taking both small and large steps in the right directions.

Everything that we consume requires energy. From our houses and all the things that we fill our houses with, to the cars that we drive, the clothes that we wear and the food that we eat. Energy makes everyday life too simple for some of us. For too many others, the lack of access to energy makes life very complicated. Our global and local energy choices have a strong impact on both nature and human health.

We must increase the global share of renewable energy. There is more than enough energy form the sun, wind waterfalls, waves and biomass to meet the needs of the world.

Small-scale improvements can make a big difference. Even if we do well on renewables, which we must do- a large share of future energy supply will still come from fossil fuels. It is therefore vital that we continue to look for ways of decreasing emission from fossil fuels.

Norwegian industry has several years of experience with technologies to capture and store carbon. Since 1996, 1 million tonnes of CO 2 have been stored annually from the offshore gas field Sleipner West. This single project equals two percent of our national emissions.

Other countries have similiar storage project in the pipeline. We need to learn more about this. It is actually fully possible to store all the CO2 emitted from Europe in oil wells and aquifers in th North Sea.

Dear friends,

Technology initiatives are essential, but can never replace agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol. We must create an international cllimate regime post 2012 that stimulates new and better solutions- also in terms of best technologies in both rich and poorer countries.

As rich countries, we must take a lead to ensure a transfer of technologies so that all countries can benefit from their use.

The good news is that we already have a lot of the technological solutions for the next decades. The challenge is to make them more competitive and ot make sure that they are put to good use.

At the same time, we must remember that technology is only a means and not an aim in itself. Investments in technology are therefore not enough. We also have to be willing to take a hard look at our lifestyles and to make our consumption patterns more sustainable in the long run.

For Wangari Maathai, tree planting to protect nature became her means fighting poverty and promoting peace. As government representantives and stakeholders on climate change, we must do our bit to make technology an important means of combating climate change. I thank you for your attention.