Speech at 20th Anniversary of the Brundtland Report

Check against delivery

Ministers, Excellencies,
Most Reverend Archbishop Tutu
Dr. Pachautri,
Mr. Steiner
Dear Gro Harlem Brundtland, Kjære Gro,

It is a great honour and pleasure to be here at this important conference and to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Brundtland report together with so many distinguished people from all parts of the world.

The Brundtland Commission report changed everything.

It opened a whole new era of thinking.

It launched a movement.

As leader of this commission all of Gro’s remarkable skills came into play.   

As a consensus builder.

As a visionary. 

Even as a medical doctor. With her ability to analyse and understand a problem. And form a diagnosis.

At the end of the day, Gro presented a consensus document and a milestone in the history of the United Nations.

The Brundtland report led to the UN Conference on Environment and Development, also known as the Earth Summit of 1992. And to a range of decisions and policy changes that continue to improved people’s life on earth.

I am proud to be here today with you and to celebrate the Anniversary as well as World Environment Day, which is tomorrow, with so many distinguished and learned participants from all parts of world and from the knowledge and research community of Tromsø.

This Government has strengthened the position of science and research as the currency of Arctic cooperation. Tromsø represents a center of excellence with respect to sustainable management of arctic resources and polar regions in general. It is altogether fitting that we meet here today and the topic of melting ice could hardly be hotter.

There are a great many issues that would we worthy of our attention on a day like this.

But I would like to address one of the many important issues which were dealt with by the Brundtland report: climate change policy.

Because if humanity fails this historic test, so much of our efforts in other areas of development and social progress will be in vain.

 I will not repeat for you today what most of you know already about the effects of global warming. We have all heard the alarm bells which are ringing from Dr. Pachauri’s Panel, from the Stern report, and now from UNEP’s Outlook for Ice and Snow.

They are compelling calls on our civilization to stand the test of our time.

We all have to act, collectively and individually.

The Norwegian Government is poised to take a frontrunner and pioneering role in moving the world forward.  We will take a leading role in the development of a new, binding climate agreement. A follow-up agreement to the Kyoto Protocol that ensures more extensive emissions cuts than we have today.

It is obvious that this will require the participation of the countries that produce the highest emissions, including the United States and major developing countries. They too will also have to take on concrete emissions commitments.

And we in Norway must also take on greater commitments. Both international efforts, - by using the Kyoto mechanisms  -, but definitely by shouldering more than a fair share of the burden also at home.

The Norwegian Government has presented three goals and commitments which form the core of our climate policy.

Firstly, Norway will over-fulfil our obligations under Kyoto. In the period up to 2012 we will reduce emissions by 10 per cent more than what we are obliged to under Kyoto.

We do this because we know that urgent action is necessary.

And we do this also since it is sound economically: the costs of reduction will actually increase for those who believe they can wait.

Secondly, we are committed to cutting global emissions of greenhouse gases equivalent to 30 per cent of our emissions by 2020.  Norway intends to implement measures at home and abroad in order to meet these goals.

And thirdly, the Norwegian Government has decided to make Norway ”carbon neutral” by 2050.  Norway will undertake to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 100 per cent of our own emissions by that year.  We do this to demonstrate that the rich world must be ready to take a greater burden, both by reducing emissions at home, but also by financing reductions in the other countries.

According to the United Nations, we are the first country in the world to adopt a policy of carbon neutrality. This policy has been noted around the world.

 

On Friday, I spoke with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General is working on a concept to ”green the UN” and to possibly make the UN, too,  carbon neutral. In that conversation I agreed that Norway will work with the Secretary-General and the UN on how such carbon neutrality can be achieved.  And other countries will be invited to join in as well.

I am pleased and proud to expand our cooperation with the Secretary-General. We are very proud also that he has asked Gro Harlem Brundtland to serve as his Special Envoy on Climate Change so that the Norwegian footprint on climate change policy will be noted around the world in the time ahead of us.

***

The challenge of global warming has unleashed a struggle of hearts and minds around the world. We have probably never faced a more complicated challenge. Emission of greenhouse gases is an unavoidable result of economic activity, based on our current technology base.

What we need is a totally new technology base and low carbon societies. Today we find ourselves in a transition where our emissions are too high and our forecasts are alarming.

Climate change is different from all other environmental problems. It does not really matter where the emission, pollution or other action takes place. Greenhouse gases blend together with the natural atmosphere and spread evenly around the world.

That is also why we are all in this together.

We are all each others’ hostages.

Not even the richest people or countries can hide, or build their own sanctuaries.

An equitable response to climate change on the scale required can only be undertaken through international collective action. We must achieve an equitable distribution of burdens and benefits. That is what we mean when we say that our responsibilities are common, but differentiated.

The industrialized countries have caused the problem and filled up the atmosphere.

We, the industrialized countries must reduce our own emissions.

And we must finance investment in modern technology, clean energy and abatement measures in developing countries.  

Yes, we must foot a substantial part of the bill.

 

There are many reasons for this.

It is fair, it is just, and equitable.

And in addition, it will give us substantial bonuses.

When we reduce emission of greenhouse gases, we will also solve a number of other environmental problems. We will also reduce sulphur emissions, particles, soot  etc., and thereby also improve public health in developing countries.

Solutions to the climate problem will also help us solve the poverty challenge.

Because we will channel new financial flows to developing countries.  

Yes, more capital and knowledge channelled to the third world will help lift new millions out of poverty.

And because of these benefits, we can hope and expect that the developing countries will  be joining the next generation of climate agreements.

 

That is why we have a unique opportunity to solve the two greatest challenges of our time:

The climate challenge and the poverty challenge.

This is what we will have to struggle with, as we move towards the parties’ conference in Bali in December, and beyond Bali:

Finding the equitable solutions, and improving incentives for cooperation between rich and poor countries.

Hopefully we will be able to agree on some targets. The Norwegian Government supports the target of limiting global warming to 2 centigrades above the pre- industrial level.

The ideal would be that all countries decide together the level of total global emissions that the earth can tolerate. Because this is implicit in the 2 centigrades target.  

We also need a global price on carbon. And trade in emission quotas.

For industry, polluting the environment has been free, and cleaning emissions has meant increased costs.

That is why industry often has been sceptical about environmental requirements.

But we have the possibility to turn this around.

To put a price on pollution

And a bonus on emission cuts.

By changing the system around, we will make sure that industry and business will use all their creativity to reduce emissions.

 

Yes, when we put a price on carbon, industry is likely to come up with solutions to avoid paying for their emissions, that surpass what we can imagine today.

This is how we politicians can speak the language business understands.

Putting a price on carbon is a language that business understands, and which will make sure that they take every conceivable step to avoid unnecessary costs of pollution.

When we succeed in this, we will see that the market can be a terrible master, and that if we take command of the market forces, the market may become a remarkable servant.

 

This is the system which is being developed today in Europe, under the European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme. Norway is in the process of joining that system.  

And when we do that we will have in place the most restrictive, yes the toughest quota system in the world. Far less free quotas will be issued here than in Europe. For example, all of the petroleum sector will be covered.

Already in 1991, Norway, as the first country in the world, introduced a CO2-tax for the petroleum industry. Most other oil-exporting countries where shocked by that.

But the tax worked. Companies started to reduce their emissions.  They found new technical solutions.

Today greenhouse gas emissions from our petroleum sector is one third of the global average per unit oil or gas produced, and half of the emissions per unit oil or gas produced in the UK and in Denmark, because we tax the emissions.

But we have done more. Our fossil fuel-based societies must develop technology to capture and store CO2.

This has been done small-scale, and in testing, but never large-scale.

We will develop and build the world’s first full-scale carbon capture and storage plant fitted to a gas-fired combined heat and power plant in Norway. At Mongstad, in Western Norway. The Government itself will invest in a technology company and become the majority partner. Other partners will be Statoil and possibly other companies.

The goal is to make the technology less expensive.  We hope to achieve this and make carbon capture and storage a real option for more countries and companies.

This has never been done before. It has not even been contemplated before.

And now, Gro, we turn to you. You have inspired millions around the world in your passionate pursuance of sustainable development. You have gracefully accepted to be with us here today. And it is my honour and privilege to give you the floor.