How is our planet doing? On March 27 and 28, the world’s most influential thinkers and opinion leaders gather in New York at the State of The Planet Conference. Alongside people like Kofi Annan and Jeffrey Sachs, Jan Egeland and Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre are two of several Norwegians attending.
3/11/2008 :: The State of the Planet Conference (SOP) is held every two years by The Earth Institute at Columbia University. The Conference assesses the state of global natural and human systems, to identify factors central to achieving sustainable development. Some of the most influential thinkers and opinion leaders from a range of academic fields, from the media, government and the policy community gather to share their insights with a global audience.
Prominent Speakers
The four sessions of the conference will be keynoted by such prominent figures as Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of The Earth Institute and Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General and former Secretary-General of the UN, Kofi Annan.
Norway is represented with several participants. Director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for conflict resolution Jan Egeland will keynote the second session, "Addressing Areas of Conflict in our Changing World. His new book “A Billion People: An Eyewitness Report from the Frontlines of Humanity,” is published in the U.S. on March 4.
In addition, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre, will deliver a speech entitled Global Health and the Foreign Policy Agenda. Mr. Støre has much experience in the field, both as former Chief of Staff of the World Health Organization and as Secretary-General of the Norwegian Red Cross, and brings perspectives from a long life as a public servant to the table.
Norwegian Sponsored Session
Session 4: Responding to Accelerated Environmental Change in the Arctic, is sponsored by the Norwegian Consulate General. On the panel, moderated by Edward McBride from The Economist, is Eystein Jansen, Ken Drinkwater and Grete K. Hovelsrud, some of Norway’s top researchers in this field, as well as Peter Schlosser of The Earth Institute at Columbia University and Daniel M. White of the Institute of Northern Engineering.
The Panelists
Grete K. Hovelsrud is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo (CICERO). She is a member of the International Polar Year (IPY) Joint Committee and the Norwegian National Committee for the IPY. Her research include among other things interdisciplinary studies on impact, adaptation and vulnerability to climate change.
Eystein Jansen is professor and director of Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research at University of Bergen. His research focuses on understanding the operation of the ocean system and its influence on climatic processes. His colleague Ken Drinkwater is a Senior Scientist at Bjerknes Centre. For over 35 years, he has been involved in research on climate variability and its effects on the marine ecosystem.
Erik S. Reinert, founder and chairman of The Other Canon Foundation and author of “How Rich Countries got Rich and Why Poor Countries Stay Poor” will participate in the panel on eradicating povertyas the poor population expands.
You can read more about the Norwegian participants and the full program for the conference at the State of The Planet website. The Conference is fully booked.
The Royal Norwegian Consulate General