Norway: Climate Conference

The Club of Madrid, the largest international forum of democratic, former heads of state and government, the environmental foundation Bellona, and the energy company Hafslund ASA are hosting a high level international climate conference in Norway 5-6 June 2008.

The conference, called Climate conference 08: Technology and finance in climate cooperation is set to begin on World Environment Day. One hundred specially selected international representatives from politics, academia, the business community and various organizations will come together at Hafslund Manor in Sarpsborg, Norway to analyse the challenges at hand on these two fronts, technology and finance, and formulate creative and constructive recommendations based on their respective experiences and knowledge. Climate Conference 08 (CC8) will be an ambitious, solutions-oriented event that seeks to make a constructive contribution to the negotiations for a new international climate agreement.

Among the distinguished speakers and participants are:

• Ricardo Lagos, former President of Chile, UN Special Envoy on climate change and President of the Club of Madrid
• Lord Nicholas Stern, I. G. Patel Chair at the London School of Economics and Political Science, former chief economist at the World Bank and author of the notable Stern Review on the economic ramifications of climate change
• Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway, former Chair of the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), today a UN Special Envoy on climate change together with Ricardo Lagos.
• Göran Persson, former Prime Minister of Sweden who, together with Ricardo Lagos, co-chairs the International Socialist Commission for a Sustainable World Society.
• Romina Picolotti, Secretary of environment and sustainable development in Argentina
• Kristin Halvorsen, Minister of Finance, Norway
• Erik Solheim, Minister of Environment and International Development, Norway
• Richard Benedick, Chief US negotiator of the Montreal Protocol, currently senior adviser at Pacific North-western National Laboratory and president of the National Council for Science and the Environment.
• Lu Xuedu, Deputy Director-General, Office of Global Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Science and Technology, China
• Jennifer Mary Shipley, former Prime Minister of New Zealand
• Kjell Magne Bondevik, former Prime Minister of Norway.
• Philippe Joubert, Executive Vice President, Alstom

Information about the co-organizers
The three co-organizers each bring a different perspective on climate change: the Club of Madrid as a network of former heads of state and government from all over the world, the Bellona Foundation as a solutions-oriented environmental organization and Hafslund ASA as an energy company deeply commit¬ted to the development of renewable energy.

The Club of Madrid is an independent organization dedicated to strengthening democracy around the world by drawing on the unique experience and resources of its Members ? 70 democratic former heads of state and government. In partnership with other organizations and governments that share its democracy-promotion goals, the Club of Madrid provides peer to peer counsel, strategic support and technical advice to leaders and institutions working towards democratic transition and consolidation. With offices in Madrid, Brussels and Washington DC, the Club of Madrid deliberates on major global issues affecting sustainable democratic development and identified climate change as one such issue. The organization also develops its Global Leadership for Climate Action (GLCA) Initiative, jointly with the United Nations Foundation, to mobilize political will for far-reaching, long-term action to prevent catastrophic climate change.

The Bellona Foundation was founded in 1986 as a direct-action protest group, but has become a recognized technologically-oriented, solutions-oriented organization with offices in Oslo, Murmansk, St. Petersburg, Brussels and Washington D.C. Bellona seeks to find sustainable solutions to the world?s most pressing environmental problems. Climate change is an enormous challenge, one that requires a clear-cut body of laws and predictable framework conditions for industry and consumers. Bellona strives to build bridges between politicians and the business community by working closely with the latter to help them respond to environmental challenges in their fields, with particular emphasis on the development and commercialization of new, more environmentally friendly technology.

Hafslund ASA is Norway?s largest net owner, largest distributor of electricity, and a major producer of renewable energy. Hafslund is also a key player in the security market for private customers, as well as one of the biggest owners of the solar energy company REC. Renewable energy and enhanced energy efficiency are key elements in the quest for a resolution to the challenges of climate change, and Hafslund has been producing electricity from environmentally friendly hydropower for more than a century. Now the company is heavily committed to the development of bioenergy, distance heating and solar energy in order to meet the energy needs of the future.

Dates & Venue
5-6 June 2008
Hafslund Manor in Sarpsborg, Norway

More info
www.CC8.no