Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our hosts for their outstanding hospitality, and for providing us with this historic venue to complete the tasks mandated by the agreements in Kyoto and Buenos Aires.

The past two months our picture of the world has been shaken. The importance and necessity of international co-operation to solve common problems appears even more vital. The presence in Marrakesh by so many of the UN countries sends a strong message. We will not give in to forces that create fear and unrest.

Mr. President, although the Convention and the Protocol are primarily thought of as environmental agreements, they are in fact important tools for enhancing co-operation between all nations. They contain vehicles for bringing institutions and individuals together, regardless of national borders. We need such closer ties.

This co-operation, at many levels, is essential in mitigating the effects of climate change. As the IPCCs TAR shows, the evidence of warming caused by human activity is stronger than ever. The climate is changing and we are to blame.

Those changes are a threat to political stability. Living conditions for millions of people will decline. More frequent or severe droughts, storms or other natural disasters¡¦ means that people in vulnerable places will be dislocated. And the poorest will be those hardest hit.

An agreement here in Marrakesh sends positive signals to the summit in Johannesburg next year. So will a strong declaration from the ministers. We need such signals to focus our attention in Johannesburg on the wider challenges we face regarding the environment and development ¡V not the

least related to poverty alleviation.

The alarming signals from the IPCC points to the need to reach an effective global climate regime. The Convention and the Protocol are important early steps. But we know that they are far from adequate. Far stronger commitments will be needed from all Parties.

The Bonn Agreement sent a strong political signal on the willingness of countries to continue the Kyoto process. It did so despite the regretful withdrawal of the worlds¡¦ largest emitter from the process. All Parties made concessions, but the framework of the Protocol remains intact. This spirit of co-operation and willingness to compromise shown in Bonn, is crucial for the success of our work. I have sensed that this spirit is also present here in Marrakesh. I hope what was achieved in the negotiations on compliance yesterday will also inspire those dealing with other issues that are left to finalise.

Mr. President, while our primary focus has been on enabling Parties to ratify the Protocol, the Convention continues to be an important tool for co-operation. We have agreed to strengthen our efforts on technology transfer, capacity building and support for adaptation. Norway is committed to contributing to a partnership between industrialised and developing countries. We have been, and will continue to be an active partner in both bilateral and multilateral co-operation in the area of climate change.

We are here to complete the design of an international regime that will last. This will benefit our children and future generations. We want to use the market to help us reaching environmental goals. A cost-effective system will make it possible to take stronger commitments in the longer term. International emissions trading, The Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation is thus crucial. To make the system work, nations and individuals also need to face binding consequences if they do not comply.

Many of the difficult political issues that have faced us in the Kyoto process were solved in Bonn. Now, we must finalise the work. It is crucial that we make the Protocol a simple, transparent and effective instrument - both in environmental and economic terms. In this respect I am pleased that we have broad agreement on a system for reporting and treatment of information that ensures the environmental integrity of the Protocol.

Mr. President, Norway will implement a significant part of its commitments through domestic action. We are actively seeking to reduce our emissions through a broad set of policies and measures. Norway has had an extensive CO2 tax in place for a decade. We believe a broad system for domestic

emissions trading, linked to the Kyoto mechanisms, is the best tool we can use to ensure compliance with the Kyoto Protocol. We will introduce this system already in 2005 in order to gain experience. We want to co-operate with other countries in this effort.

Mr. President, we have a job to do here in Marrakech. We must resolve the remaining issues so that we can finalize our ratification process and see the rapid entry into force of the Protocol.

Thank you !