Europe-Asia Dialogue on the Climate Challenge of the 21st Century - Welcoming words, Mr. Jan-Erik Enestam, Minister of the Environment, September 7-8, 2006, in Helsinki, Finland
07 Sep 2006, 15:30 en
Mr/Madam Chairperson, ladies and gentlemen,
It is an honour for me to welcome you to this very important meeting. I am pleased to see that your programme contains highly interesting presentations and that it is looking at the complex issue of climate change from many different angles.
I find your approach a very useful one, particularly on the eve of the ASEM Summit, where European and Asian countries will also discuss climate issues. I'd like to stress the importance of this meeting for two reasons:
Firstly, the European and Asian countries at ASEM represent more than a third of all investments in the energy sector in the world. These ASEM Partners as a group are estimated to invest 6.3 trillion dollars during the next 25 years (*). Imagine the tremendous benefits for the climate, if this money is invested wisely.
Secondly, the meeting is held on a very high level. Therefore, the decisions made in Helsinki can have a profound and far-reaching effect on numerous climate change actions in the future. Just think about the new opportunities it could open for energy-efficient technology, for instance. Or picture what a boost the meeting could give to market-based mechanisms.
I hope that the ASEM meeting will adopt a declaration on climate issues. It would be good news indeed, if the declaration would support the constructive dialogue initiated in the Montreal climate conference last year. We would be one step nearer to solving, for instance, questions related to the respective roles of the developed and developing countries in the future. This is an important issue when the parties of the UN climate convention meet in Nairobi in November.
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Let me say a few words on how I see the Nairobi sessions.
Constructing global solutions to address climate change is a bit like building a house. Last year in Montreal we set some important new cornerstones for the construction. What has followed has been a lot of hard work. I'm happy to report that the spirit has been very positive and dynamic.
The phase of forging solid foundations may not inspire big headlines, but it is nonetheless an absolutely necessary and extremely demanding part of the construction process. As EU President, we are determined to ensure that the EU is well prepared for this task.
This is the first time the climate sessions will be held in sub-Saharan Africa. That is why there is a special focus on issues that are important for developing countries, such as adaptation, technology transfer and capacity building.
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During our Presidency the climate issues are also high on the agenda of several other summits with third countries. I'd like to mention the EU summits with Korea, China, India,Russia, and Canada.
I am also very pleased that the EU will be engaged in a dialogue on climate issues with both Russia and the US during this autumn. The first Permanent Partnership Council between the EU and Russia will be held in October in Finland and climate is one of the main topics. We are also going to start an EU-US high-level dialogue on climate change, clean energy and sustainable development. The first meeting will be held in Finland later this autumn.
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You should know that climate is our top priority during the Presidency. We are working hard to make progress in the international process which is now in a very challenging and promising phase.
Thank you for letting me share these thoughts with you. I hope that you will have fruitful discussions and I wish you the best of success in your meeting.
(*) Source: World Energy Outlook, International Energy Agency (IEA)
