Madame President, Ministers, Distinguished Colleagues,
The IPCC has stated that urgent and unprecedented changes are needed to stop global temperatures from rising more than 1.5°C.
Their report also stressed that such changes are possible. Limiting global warming will go hand in hand with the 2030 Agenda.
At COP24 in Katowice, we confirmed our determination to unite against the threat of accelerating climate change. The robust rules and guidelines we agreed upon, will help countries implement and strengthen climate targets.
2019 will be the year of ambition.
The UN Secretary-General’s 2019 Climate Summit must challenge leaders across the world to raise ambitions significantly.
Our youth has sent us a clear message through the recent school strikes for a safe climate future.
From Norway's side we have confirmed that we will increase our 2030 target.
Increased support and climate finance to developing countries is necessary for the effective implementation of the Paris agreement. This needs to be part of our discussion at the Summit.
Public climate finance is clearly critical to meeting the USD 100 billion goal by 2020. An ambitious replenishment of the Green Climate Fund this year is part of that effort. Norway has already announced that we intend to double our contribution to the Fund.
For many years, Norway has supported climate action in developing countries. Norway has a particular engagement in renewable energy, oceans and promoting reduced emissions from the forest and land use sector. Through our partnerships, we have shown that reduced deforestation can be combined with increased agricultural productivity.
Colleagues,
Natural disasters are occurring more frequently, as we have recently seen in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Small island developing states’ existence are threatened.
Evidence of global warming is obvious also in my own region - the Arctic. The magnitude of temperature increase in the Arctic is twice as large as the global increase. The effect of Arctic climate change will have profound local, regional and global implications.
Finally, Madame President,
In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity.
Estimates from New Climate Economy show that bold action against climate change could yield a direct economic gain of USD 26 trillion through to 2030, compared with business-as-usual. Furthermore, the ongoing renewable energy transition is likely to reduce the number of energy-related conflicts.
The next 10–15 years are a unique ‘use it or lose it’ moment in history.
As a consistent partner, Norway is committed to doing her share for our common future.
Thank you.