Trond Giske at the Ny-Ålesund Symposium

Minister of Trade and Industry, Trond Giske, is hosting the Ny-Ålesund symposium from 21 - 23 May 2012. The theme of this year's symposium is "Towards a green economy: the role of technology" and the event is dedicated to innovation and technological development.

- I am pleased to have been given the opportunity to host this important symposium. The global climate and environmental challenges are not only a threat but also an economic opportunity.

The Ny-Ålesund symposium is an annual event that brings together leading politicians, scientists, business people and other key decision-makers to discuss climate change and environmental issues with global implications.

- At Ny-Ålesund, I want to focus on the win-win situation we can achieve through developing new technology and restructuring industries to meet environmental challenges while creating new economic growth, says Minister Trond Giske.

Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), opened the symposium via video link:

- The Arctic region is warming at twice the pace as the rest of the world. Neither adaptation nor mitigation alone is enough to tackle climate change.  Both types of measures are needed, Pachauri said.

Among the participants at the symposium are head of the Swedish Energy Bureau, Mr Erik Brandsma, Director of Sustainable Energy at the International Energy Agency (IEA), Mr Bo Diczfalusy and CEO of Statkraft Mr Christian Rynning-Tønnesen. Former EU parliamentarian and now senior advisor at the Stockholm Environmental Institute, Mr Anders Wijkman, is the chair of the symposium.

- With a historic coal mining town and Svalbard’s fantastic scenery as a backdrop, the Ny-Ålesund symposium has proven to be an interesting and unique forum for discussions on global climate and environmental challenges, says Giske.

Facts:

*Ny-Ålesund is a former mining town at 79 ˚ N on the west coast of Spitsbergen, and is today an international Arctic research community. The city is managed by the Kings Bay AS, which is wholly owned by the government through the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

*Ny-Ålesund is the annual venue for the three-day symposium, which has been held since 2006. The symposium is organized by Kings Bay in cooperation with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Justice and the Police, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Research Council. Statkraft is a sponsor of the symposium. The number of participants at the symposium is limited to 40.

For more information about the symposium, follow this link.

Contact for media:
Øyvind Arum, Ministry of Trade and Industry: 917 284 09
Press Centre, Ministry of Trade and Industry: 902 51 303