Speech at Prince of Wales' meeting on rainforests

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Thank you, Your Royal Highness.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Your Royal Highness,
I would like to thank you for so graciously hosting this event, an event that highlights one of the most pressing global issues of our time.

I admire you for your leadership and vision in raising the world’s awareness of the need to protect our rainforests. And I commend you for your initiative to reduce deforestation and forest degradation.

If we fail to deal with climate change, we will have to answer to future generations. Our actions now must pass the test of time.

The challenges we face are daunting.

Deforestation alone accounts for close to 20 per cent of global emissions of greenhouse gases. If we are to succeed in combating climate change, deforestation must be drastically reduced.

It is possible, within a reasonably short period of time, at a modest cost. And we have no choice. But, it will require a major international effort.

Norway wants to do its share. We are working with Brazil in the Amazon. We are cooperating with the UK and others in the Congo Basin. And we are working with the UN and the World Bank in other parts of the world.

We have made a commitment to allocate up to 500 million US dollar annually to this end. And we have already started the implementation.

Deforestation must be included in a new global climate agreement. Only then will we have the predictability needed for protecting the world’s tropical forests.

Your Royal Highness,
We are indebted to you for your most timely and visionary initiative, for bringing world leaders together. We must join forces to meet the challenges of tropical deforestation. We must act with urgency. We must find a way forward that is consistent with, and adds value to, the international climate negotiations.

I support the idea of a fast-working, informal working group. Norway will be happy to join the UK, taking on the responsibility for the interim secretariat functions to get this effort started.

We need to show leadership in order to preserve a vital global public good. We owe it to future generations.

Thank you.