Speech Ministry of the Environment 26 November 2007
Andreas Carlgren, Minister for the Environment

Speech by the Minister of the Environment, Andreas Carlgren, Climate Forum, Stockholm University - Sweden as the leading model for environmentally driven growth

Sometimes, when enormous changes take place, we talk about landslides. We say, for example, that someone has won a landslide victory.

In a landslide masses of earth accumulate over a long period. More and more water and earth accumulate. This takes place without any apparent effect or change, but then, all of a sudden, huge displacements of earth masses take place. Great changes occur, often brutal, sometimes very dramatic, in a short time.

There has truly been a landslide on the issue of climate change.

This is apparent if we follow Bert Bolin. I remember reading a report by Bert Bolin in the 1970s, produced by the Secretariat for Futures Studies.

Over a long period Bert Bolin was one of the people in the international community who presented knowledge time after time. He helped set up the IPCC and became its first chairman, without any noticeable impact on the environment at first. And then suddenly, and we can almost date this to some time just over a year ago, this huge change took place.

Suddenly there was awareness of this key political issue, the outcome of hard work over a long period of time.

Later this year we will, quite rightly, be honouring the IPCC with the Nobel Peace Prize. I phoned Bert Bolin yesterday to congratulate him on his newly published book. He said we have been battling for such a long time, it's tremendous that the Nobel Peace Prize is based on a combination of knowledge and communication to the public.

Increased political pressure

What we have experienced really can be called a landslide. It has also, necessarily, raised the political pressure. Now attention is turning to what the world's politicians need to accomplish.

Expectations were stepped up with the publication of the IPCC reports in the spring. With the way in which the United States, together with the other G8 countries, together with the G5 countries, expressed themselves and started to display a desire to take action not previously evident. With the UN summit which the UN´s Secretary-General called - where the world's heads of state and government talked about climate for the first time.

The Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, put it like this at the weekend´s IPCC conference:
"Today the world´s scientists have spoken clearly and with one voice. In Bali I expect the worlds policymakers to do the same."

The question is: what can we expect from the Bali summit? The Bali summit will not achieve everything, but the Swedish Government and the EU consider that we should expect:

. Firstly, to indicate a vision of how far we can go in emission reductions in the long term and preferably also in the medium term.

. Secondly, to identify the building blocks for a future global agreement on climate.

. Thirdly, to establish a roadmap for the negotiations, with a timetable and clear stages along the way from Bali in 2007 to Copenhagen in 2009 - and in so doing to reach a broad international consensus that the process should reach its objective in 2009.

- Fourthly and finally, to have launched the negotiations with the conference in Bali.

Joint vision and building blocks

If we have a common vision on how far we can go, what might it contain?

The IPCC talks of a need to reduce emissions by between 50 and 85 per cent by 2050. The EU, Canada and Japan have each separately set the objective of at least halving global emissions by 2050. The EU is willing to achieve emission reductions of 30 per cent if other developed countries make comparable reductions, and in the preparations for Bali there has been agreement that the total decrease in emissions for the developed countries as a basic principle could be in a range between 25 and 40 per cent by 2020.

What we now hope is that the basic principles can be established ahead of the negotiations, with an indication of what level of emissions is desirable. If we can do that, we will have created a framework for what level of reductions to aim for.

When we identify the building blocks for a future global agreement on climate, this is done in the knowledge that the negotiations begin with the Bali summit. But we cannot seriously negotiate the contents of such an agreement in Bali. I nevertheless wish to put forward some arguments on what we want the building blocks to include.

1. Emission reductions that stabilise greenhouse gas emissions

Binding commitments are required for developed countries, quite obviously. The rich part of the world has appropriated by far the greater part of the world´s carbon dioxide budget - and in doing so has bought for itself an economic standard for climate degradation.
It is therefore obvious that the rich world must now
- take the lead in reducing emissions
- do the most
- and also pay for the consequences suffered by those most affected

We welcome what appears to be a change in attitude by Australia  a willingness to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. We welcome increasing involvement throughout American society, the American population, industry and business, the federal states and the Administration. And we urge a willingness to make a commitment to sufficient binding emission reductions.

At the same time we now welcome contributions from the developing countries towards reducing emissions. We cannot expect developing countries to immediately make similar binding commitments to reduce emissions similar to those made by developed countries.

I and the Swedish Government do, however, consider that a future climate agreement needs to create reasons for developing countries to carry out emission reductions that can be measured, reported and verified. And we need to bring about a stronger undertaking by developing countries experiencing rapid growth to reduce their emissions. In that way we can ensure that the agreement is based on the principle of joint but differentiated responsibility.

2. Adaptation measures that protect the most vulnerable societies from the consequences of climate degradation

Africa accounts for 3-4 per cent of world emissions, but is among the parts of the globe most seriously affected. Even if we managed to curb the increase in emissions immediately, these countries would be affected by terrible consequences that we must help protect them from.

3. Technology transfer: cooperation and access for developing countries

One of the encouraging signals the IPCC highlights is that the measures and technology to limit emissions will be in place by 2030 or will be commercialised during this period.

The dilemma, however, is that the rich world has appropriated the carbon dioxide budget without taking moral responsibility for it. Developing countries should not need to take the road to increased wealth through fossil-heavy economies, and we must instead assist in transferring environmental technology to allow a short-cut to be taken to fossil-free, climate-proofed economies that grow and flourish.

4. Investments and funding of adaptation measures and transfer of technology

Here we must develop what are known in the fine language of negotiation and agreement as the "flexible mechanisms", that is to say
- cooperation with less developed industrialised countries on investments in emission reductions
- cooperation with developing countries on the introduction of environmental technology
- emissions trading

Emissions trading is one of the great global issues. The carbon dioxide market that is now emerging makes it possible to take the decisions that are required for us to be seriously capable of bringing about sufficiently large transfers of resources.

Even the little things have a role to play. The Government will now be globally offsetting our international air travel and perhaps more importantly, in the way now also being considered, introducing guidance for business and the general public to offset emissions caused by car journeys, air travel or whatever it might be in such a way that the offsetting is transferred to certificates issued by the UN for CDM projects.

The EU is now developing emissions trading. Norway is taking part in the cooperation. We have cooperation with federal states in the United States, with California to the fore. Here we can see the beginnings of global emissions trading, which we also regard as having the capability to generate future resources. Opportunities are also being created for the great technological push required in developing countries throughout the world.

The EU will, for instance be involved in funding projects - Sweden will take its responsibility.

At the Bali summit we must also agree on the financing of the adaptation fund. One of the greatest issues here will obviously be deforestation and reforestation, which are of crucial significance if the climate is to be saved. We want
- firstly pilot projects already to be launched at the Bali summit
- secondly steps to be taken now to enable the forests to be brought into the global carbon dioxide market.

From Bali to Copenhagen

Sweden, together with France and the Czech Republic, will be holding the presidency of the EU during eighteen crucial months. The top priority for the Swedish Government in its six months in charge is the climate issue. We are now preparing the programme for these eighteen months together with the French and Czech environment ministers.

The climate and energy measures adopted will also be steered through the political process in the EU with a new Parliament and a new Commission. We will need to accomplish this under completely different time pressure and at a faster pace than is normally the case in the EU.

There will need to be intensive negotiations between now and then. Whereas to date therefore been a couple of meetings a year, there will now be a completely different programme, new negotiating forums and far more frequent meetings.

When Sweden holds the EU presidency and I chair the EUs environment ministers in the autumn of 2009, we want to achieve the main political agreement to save the climate globally.

Sweden as a model

I have sometimes been asked, a little incredulously, whether Sweden is really the country to lead the way.

There should not be any doubt about it: the answer is self-evidently YES!

Sweden should be the leading international model, as a country with a high rate of growth that is environmentally sound and based on sustainable resources. This means having to be a fossil-free, environmentally driven economy with a high rate of growth.

We in Sweden need to do everything we can to save the world´s climate, but we cannot save the worlds climate here in Sweden. What we do and the role we fulfil have to be viewed from an international perspective.

The great question internationally is, and will continue to be, how to succeed in reducing emissions without bringing the economy to a halt. This is the question being asked around the world, and it is a task that any country aiming to serve as a model has to accomplish. We have already shown that it is possible to reduce emissions while enjoying a high rate of growth! And we need to continue to do so! That is how to serve as a model.

Sweden should position itself strategically in this international work. We need to be best at what we want to demonstrate. Only then will we be able to exploit the strategic advantages offered by the environmental technology initiative, in which we contribute and export whole systems and products. In which we can contribute, at the same time, to improving the world´s climate.

The Government wishes to create a national consensus

The Government therefore wishes to create a national consensus.

" We will turn to research and development and innovations, with the aim of bringing about technical development and a climate of innovation for technology in the front line of the environment and the climate.

" We will turn to the business community and urge broad and proactive efforts that continue to put Sweden in the front line.

" We wish to build a broad political majority and consensus on aspirations to increase initiatives, raise the level of our aspirations for climate initiatives and gather the whole of Swedish society behind a national climate objective.
The recommendations of the Scientific Council mean that Sweden will be the first country in the world to aim at stabilising the concentration of greenhouse gases at an even lower level than has been discussed to date in the world community. The Government unreservedly welcomes this and at the same time expresses its willingness to enter into as broad an agreement as possible on this political objective.

" We will encourage and urge civil society to engage in continued opinion-forming and commitment to environmentally friendly shopping, driving and housing. At the same time the Government has made it easier to make environmentally friendly choices.

Measures for a better climate

We have already taken practical action and developed policies.

The climate billion and the climate tax package to name just two.

We have developed economic policies which in many cases are, and have to be, European and long-term, that is to say that have to be based on broad political agreements. That greatly improves the prospects of the business community taking initiatives and making investments, helping in creating this model and continuing to serve as a model of what Sweden has been and will be.

An example is creating platforms for major initiatives, such as sustainable cities.

Emissions trading that ensures that the polluter pays, that ensures that we achieve the greatest possible emission reductions for the money we spend and also establishes ground rules for strategic decisions in business.

In that way we also pass the baton on for broad climate efforts to everyone in Swedish society and to each and every one us in this room. Because this will affect the whole of Swedish society. We will then be able to make our contribution to enabling the world jointly to avert the threat to the climate.

That brings me back to where I started - with Bert Bolin. This is how he ends his newly published book, the one I phoned to congratulate him on: "Whatever the circumstances, sustainable access to renewable energy is the principal long-term objective. A solution to the dilemma we face that is capable of being implemented necessitates direct joint action. This cannot be achieved unless real cooperation is accomplished in the world."

In the short term we might think that nothing of what the world accomplishes is sufficient. But I am convinced that the world will succeed, quite simply we must succeed. And when we look back, we might perhaps be able to say that what we accomplished was a landslide victory.