Klima- og Energiminister Lykke Friis' tale ved "The Arctic as a Messenger for Global Processes – Climate Change and Pollution" Konference
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A few weeks ago the visitors at the Berlin Zoo had an unexpected shock;
The polar bear Knut actually died right in front of them.
But who was Knut?
He wasn’t just any other cuddly, fluffy cub,
He wasn’t just an international star who graced magazine covers, movies and merchandise.
No, he was a living symbol of the battle against climate change.
He even ended up being adopted by the German minister of the environment Sigmar Gabriel.
Now Knut has died,
And the question is:
- did the battle against climate change die with him?
No doubt the climate question has taken a steep step down from the media agenda after Copenhagen.
Where it ought to be ALIVE and KICKING.
Why? Because no matter how we look at it,
it is an indisputable fact, that climate change is happening – and it will continue to do so if we don’t act.
Zackenberg
Let me illustrate this by an anecdote of another polar bear, that I nearly met last year at the research facility Zackenberg in East Greenland,
Here I suddenly found my self on top of an arctic glacier.
And with the news, that a scientist had just seen a polar bear on the airstrip of the nearby Daneborg, still ringing in my ears, I tried to find comfort in the fact that I had a riffle in my hand.
Because only a few hours earlier I talked to the scientist who just a few days earlier saved his colleague from a dramatic death after an attack from a polar bear.
After telling me his story, he promised to cook me a polar bear steak that same evening.
Tempting as that might be, I had not come to Greenland for the sake of arctic cuisine.
but to take a close look at the very visible climate changes there.
In fact, the climate changes in East Greenland are some of the best indicators of what we have in store in terms of environmental changes in the future.
Firstly because the changes you find here are more severe than any other place,
secondly because changes in the Arctic have damaging global consequences.
A clear indication of this is the fact that spring starts two weeks earlier than it used to,
and that the snow melts a lot faster than it did just a few years ago.
Climate Change is a reality
The SWIPA report presented today carves this in stone.
Let me just give you three examples:
1. First; The ice in the Arctic has melted faster the last decade than in the previous.
In fact the Arctic Ocean is likely to be nearly ice-free in the summer within the next 30 to 40 years.
− leaving Arctic populations and businesses facing tremendous challenges.
2. Second; In only four years the estimates of expected global sea level rise have increased dramatically.
In fact this report states, that it will reach between 90 centimeters and 1.6 meters - within this century!
The Arctic ice sheet and other ice caps are among the main contributors to global sea level rise.
This is of course a major concern.
3. And finally; Over the last 30 years the increase in average temperature has been twice as high in the Arctic than in the rest of the world.
And the global temperature is continuing one way – UP.
Indeed, the past decade was the warmest decade measured until now.
And although the financial crisis did shrink the global CO2-footprint a bit, the CO2-level in the atmosphere is still at the highest level since the industrialization – and it is still rising.
Need for action
And let’s not forget, that climate change will increase the risk of natural disasters occurring like the ones we have seen in the last few years, weeks and days.
That is also the reason why the Pentagon for the first time has incorporated climate change in its defence review last year.
And it stresses the importance of the Danish government's vision to be independent of fossil fuels before 2050.
Obviously, we need to follow this up at a European level.
As well as increasing the European commitment to keep fighting for an ambitious outcome in Durban this December.
Although the road could appear unnecessary winding, the goal is clear: We must limit the global warming to below 2 degrees above the pre-industrial level.
As you well know, climate change is not only an environmental time-bomb, it is also a threat to our economy.
It is a great challenge.
I recently returned to Mexico to follow up on the Cancun results from COP16 and prepare for COP 17 in South Africa.
I would be lying to you if I claimed everything is honky dory and that an orange could possibly fall in our turban in Durban.
Because it will not.
But we are making progress.
Policy makers depend on solid science
To continue our work, it is absolutely crucial,
that we are advised by the best relevant up-to-date scientific information available from the
inter-disci-plinary field of climate science.
This reminds me of a speech written by a German scientist a couple of years ago:
"Politics must not restrict the innovative and pioneering spirit of scientists.
We have to live with you having the freedom to develop and not know when you invent something. And obviously hope that nevertheless now and then you come up with something excellent”
That scientist was Angela Merkel.
Her words tell us, that science is radically different from politics, in the way that science must question everything to progress.
As Niels Bohr once said:
“Every sentence that I utter must be understood not as an affirmation, but as a question.”
In politics, well you are expected to present clear answers and show action,
But frankly this should be done on the basis of science.
And I must say, I certainly applaud the persistent work from the Arctic scientific community.
As already hinted at, the long term goal is still to strike a global deal.
But the negotiations are not given a lot of attention by the media and often don’t stir up debate in the public domain.
It is as if the climate movie continues - but on low volume.
It is my hope that the SWIPA report will turn up the volume again– or bass if you like – both in the negotiations in Bonn in June, and in the public debate as such.
Because the new knowledge shows, that things are moving in the wrong direction.
In that respect it is of paramount importance that we acknowledge both the responsibilities and the opportunities, that come with the Arctic climate.
This certainly goes for my own country,
and it will be reflected in a new common Arctic Strategy, between Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Denmark – due this summer.
I hope this conference is an eye-opener to the world of just how far science of the Arctic has come.
And I hope it will make us wiser in terms of actually acting upon our knowledge.
Outro
Because - Knut might be dead,
but the battle against climate change certainly isn’t.
Unfortunately none of us can predict the future in great detail.
As the famous Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard once put it:
“Life can only be understood backwards,
But must be lived forward”
Or to use Steve Jobs’ modern version,
a couple of weeks ago at Stanford:
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward,
You can only connect the dots looking backwards”.
My point today is the following.
We can connect the dots in terms of knowing, that we have to change.
But obviously we don’t know the exact technologies and methods how to do it.
Let’s connect the dots
Let’s continue a fruitful relationship between government and research.
And let’s build a greener future.
I hope you enjoy your stay in Copenhagen.
Thank you.