Remarks were provided by Norway’s Ambassador to the U.S., Knut Vollebaek, U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), and Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jan Petersen, among others from both science and politics. The symposium, a follow-up of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) Report and the Reykjavik Declaration of November 24, 2004, both reviewed the findings of the effects of climate change in the high north and looked toward mitigating action.
Ambassador Vollebaek emphasized that climate change in the Arctic has truly global consequences; the Norwegian Embassy has been active in strengthening transatlantic collaboration in this area. Senator McCain remarked on his visit, in August of 2004, to Svalbard, Norway, at the invitation of Foreign Minister Petersen. During this visit Senator McCain witnessed firsthand the severity of climate change impacts in the Arctic, which include glacial retreat, melting permafrost, and reduced sea-ice formation. Senator McCain, in conjunction with Senator Joe Liebermann, has introduced the McCain-Liebermann Climate Stewardship Act to the U.S. Senate, a bill that intends to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and further the development of alternative energy. Senator McCain emphasized that we must take bold steps, including developing a post-Kyoto agreement, and we must surmount the difficulty of bringing home to the public the importance of Arctic climate change, particularly as the “coalmine canary” of global climate.
Foreign Minister Jan Petersen spoke on the rise of global warming as the issue of primary importance to Arctic countries, since the reduced focus on security after the end of the cold war. The ACIA Report shows that climate change is occurring much faster in the Arctic than previously expected, with some figures showing average temperatures in the Arctic increasing nearly twice as fast as the rest of the world. The effects of this, including sea-level rise, will be global. Minister Petersen mentioned some of Norway’s recent efforts to combat climate change, which include completing the regulation of almost all sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Norway by means of climate policy instruments such as green taxes, a special CO2 tax and a national emissions trading system for greenhouse gases.
Several important points were raised by the speakers, including concerns about increased shipping through an ice-free Arctic, the logistical issues of relocating coastal villages due to raised sea-level, and, in the Arctic, melted permafrost, and recent studies which reveal a 1ºC increase in global average temperature is without precedent in the past 400,000 years. As well, the importance of limiting aerosols such as sulfate and black carbon, and the potentially great benefits of increased efficiency were discussed.
Other climate change mitigation efforts that were touched upon included the increased willingness of utility and energy companies to work toward reduced emissions, and the initiatives of local governments. The predominant theme apparent by the conclusion of the symposium was the importance of international collaborative action—we must act together and we must act now.
The Norwegian Embassy will organize a follow-up conference on November 1, 2005, focussing on Climate & Oceans, in co-operation with the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C.