Date: 04 June 2009 23:00
Category:
Norway's Foreign Minister in Edinburgh and London
Jonas Gahr Støre, the Norwegian Foreign Minister gave a public lecture in Edinburgh on the environment and resource management in the High North on 4 June, before heading to London on 5 June to attend a meeting with Foreign Secretary David Milliband, and a lecture at LSE.
In Edinburgh Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre gave an outline of recent developments in the High North and Norway's strategy for meeting the future challenges in this vast area. Over the past few years, international interest in the High North and the wider Arctic area has been increasing rapidly. Main drivers in this development are the ice melting, the opening up of new sea lanes of transportation and the prospects for development of the region's energy potential. Increased human activity underlines the need for strengthened international cooperation and for responsible management of renewable and non-renewable resources.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair and Honeywell chairman and CEO David M. Cote also spoke at the LSE lecture and engaged in a panel discussion with the Norwegian Foreign Minister. Støre spoke of the need for private business and government to work together in order to combat climate change, and also highlighted some of the measures and initiatives that have been undertaken in Norway, especially regarding carbon capture and storage.
Combating climate change must be on the top of the international political agenda. Governments concerned must strike the right balance between preservation of the environment and economic development, and give priority to developing environmentally safe energy. The United Kingdom and Scotland are vital partners for Norway in this regard. We need more knowledge and more advanced technologies. Norway highly values the cooperation with her Western neighbour, which is a most important player in fields such as education and science, industry and development, environment and the management of living resources.
