Madam Chair, dear colleagues and friends,

In 1988, when I was 17, I read the news about acid rain, the hole in the ozone layer, forests that were dying because of pollution. All this made me worried about the future. But I believed that if we stood together, if we fought these problems, together, we would be able to solve them. So I became a member of an environmental youth organisation in Norway, and worked with the environmental movement for many years, before I became a Member of the Norwegian Parliament. 

Today, my children don’t have to worry about the hole in the ozone layer or acid rain. These problems are gone. We solved them. The scientists made us aware of them, some of us got worried, put pressure on parliaments and business around the world. International agreements to combat acid rain and the hole in the ozone layer were made, solutions were created and implemented. And today we can celebrate. 

But today, hardly a day goes by without fresh news of how climate change is dramatically changing our planet. All around the world, countries are experiencing floods, droughts, heat waves, wildfires and other extreme weather events. This summer was the driest summer in more than 500 years in Europe. At this moment, dramatic floods are devastating Pakistan. The repercussions are many, with human suffering and hunger among the most severe. 

But I still believe, as I did when I was 17, that we can solve the climate crisis, if we have the will and stand together. 

The Arctic has been hit by a temperature rise of three to four times the global average. In the North of Norway, and in Svalbard in particular, the average temperature is expected to rise even higher. Parts of Longyearbyen have been moved because of an increased avalanche risk. 

Some years ago, I met Sheila Watt Cloutier, Sheila is an Inuit. For the first ten years of her life, Sheila was raised traditionally, travelling on the land by dog sled. When I met her, she was the chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council. She travelled around the world speaking about: “The right to be cold.” Explaining how the Inuit’s traditional way of life, their culture, was threatened by global warming. How could they continue hunting on the ice when the ice was gone? Sheila talked about global warming from a human rights perspective. In Norway we see the same challenges for the Sami people. Their culture is threatened by global warming as well, but they face some other challenges too. Some of the solutions to the climate crisis harm their culture and areas. Areas they are dependent on for reindeer herding. The Supreme Court judged the permission given for two of the windfarms in Norway lately illegal. The supreme court concluded it broke the samiipeople’s human rights.

The Australian report State of the environment concludes like this: “There is a deep interconnection between the health of Country and the health of Indigenous people. Healthy country means healthy people – and if people are healthy, they can look after Country. Mainstream management decisions that disconnect people from Country have a negative impact on health and wellbeing. Indigenous knowledge and sustainable cultural practice are key to environmental management. Indigenous peoples’ stewardship of Country is a deep connection, passed down through the generations and developed over tens of thousands of years.”

Facing the challenges ahead we need to build on solutions that respects the rights of our indigenous people and use their knowledge, developed throughout thousands of years. 

I’m confident that all us gathered in this room are well aware of the serious impact climate change has and of the challenge humankind faces from a warmer climate. What we need to do now, is to mobilize people in our common struggle, give them the hope and belief they need to combat the climate crisis. Because, the one thing I fear more than climate change is belief in fate. That we get overwhelmed by the changes, and fall into the trap of thinking that this is something we cannot do anything about. But we can, if we want to. 

That’s why I’d like to spend the rest of my time talking about how we in the Arctic should improve our cooperation to meet these challenges. I will focus on two topics: One – Cutting emissions, and Two – Improving our understanding and knowledge.

One – cutting emissions
The Arctic cooperation has done vital work to map out the emissions of short-lived climate pollutants – such as black carbon. There are several major sources of black carbon: industry, wildfires, shipping and emissions from burning of hydrocarbons. Black carbon absorbs solar radiation and heats surrounding air when suspended in the atmosphere. And by reducing the reflectivity of the earth’s surface when deposited on snow and ice and other surfaces, it accelerates the melting and warming process.

Action on short-lived climate pollutants complements mitigation of long-lived greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. Cutting black carbon emissions will have more imminent effect on the melting of snow and ice, compared to CO2 which stays in the atmosphere for many decades. We also know that regional cuts have regional effects. This means that if we manage to cut emissions in the Arctic, this will reduce Arctic climate change. Furthermore, we know that reduced emissions will have positive human health effects. 

There are around 1500 off-grid communities in the Arctic, which means that they are not connected to the national electricity system. The main energy source for most of these communities is diesel for producing electricity. In the conference statements from previous Arctic parliamentary conferences, we have repeatedly called for development of renewable energy resources suitable for Arctic conditions. I want to share with you how the company “Store Norske” in Longyearbyen, Svalbard now wants to go from coal mining to providing renewable energy solutions for Arctic off-grid communities. 

Since 1916, “Store Norske” has been a coal-mining company in Svalbard. But most of the coalmines have now closed, with the last mine due to shut in 2025. Today, the company is involved in several other sectors, including tourism and logistics, and now they want to develop renewable energy solutions for Arctic off-grid communities. What makes this situation special is that, at the same time, Longyearbyen is closing its coal-fired power plant and is looking for other and mostly renewable energy solutions. Together with the scientists at the University Centre in Svalbard and other local partners, “Store Norske” will use the knowledge and experience gained from more than a century of doing business in the Arctic to develop renewable energy solutions for off-grid communities.

It’s too early to tell if they will succeed in their endeavours, but in a pilot project just outside Longyearbyen, they have already reduced diesel consumption by 40%. With a mix of wind-, solar and geothermal energy, and with battery capacity for storage, the aim is to be diesel-free in the near future. 

Another important aspect is the cost of energy, as the price of diesel is much higher in the Arctic than the national average due to long distances and poor infrastructure. 

Dear colleagues,
The second topic I would like to address is the need for a better understanding of the consequences of climate change. To achieve this, we need both more research and improved international cooperation. With the dramatic and rapid effects of climate change in the Arctic, we need to strengthen and improve our research cooperation. 

This is vital for at least three reasons:

1. We need a better understanding of how climate change is affecting the living conditions for the people in the Arctic. 
2. Likewise, we need to know more about how it’s affecting the flora and fauna in the Arctic, such as the migration patterns of the fish stocks and how increased vegetation is changing Arctic landscapes.
3. Not least, we need to monitor the pace of the melting ice. The melting sea ice means that the Arctic Ocean is opening up. The melting of the Greenland ice sheet has an impact on global sea level rise. 

In the conference statement from the digital Arctic parliamentary conference in 2021, we called for a new International Polar Year. An International Polar Year is a massive, collaborative effort in joint polar research, observations and analyses. The fourth IPY took place from 2007-2008 and involved 50 000 people from 60 countries on 228 projects. With the dramatic current changes in mind, we thought it necessary to start planning the Fifth IPY.

I can inform you that our call has been heard by international science organisations. The International Arctic Science Committee and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, both central in the planning and execution of the last polar year, have approved this proposal in their work plans. 

Dear friends,

We can solve the problems we have created, history has shown us that. In these difficult and dangerous times, we need more cooperation. I hope you will join me by sharing your thoughts and experiences along the same lines.

I look forward to the discussion and talk afterwards.

Thank you so much for your attention.