Climate change increases risk of disaster

“Climate change is altering the face of disaster risk. In order to take global challenges of disaster risk reduction seriously, we need to integrate disaster and climate risk management with foreign policy and development cooperation,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre today. 

Minister Støre gave the opening speech today at an international conference on dealing with disasters and climate change in Oslo: “The Oslo Policy forum on changing the way we develop”. The conference takes place in Oslo 28 - 29 February.

“We need urgent action on climate change adaptation. Some of the most dramatic effects of climate change will occur in regions with weak governance structures, environmental degradation, poverty and violent conflict. And to all of that we now have to add the accelerating consequences of climate change,” Støre stated.

“The brutal paradox is that the most vulnerable societies have contributed relatively little to global warming. Rich and industrialized nations including my own must take the lead and bear the heaviest burden. We are committed to taking the global challenges of disaster risk reduction seriously. I believe we have to change the architecture of both foreign policy and development cooperation,” Støre said.

Read the speech here