Mr. Lars Sponheim Minister of Agriculture Chairperson, Norwegian Liberal Party

International Conference on Concrete – the Sustainable Construction Material, Oslo November 11th, 2003

Opening statement.

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is indeed a rare occasion for me to have the possibility to address an international conference on concrete. It is a “once-in-a- political-lifetime”-event for a Minister of Agriculture. I appreciate the request from the organisers of this congress, and I did not hesitate much before I decided to grasp this opportunity.

I realise, however, that it is probably not due to my extraordinary competence in technical aspects of production and utilisation of concrete that I am asked to address this conference. More likely it is due to the fact that I have provoked some people in the “concrete community” in Norway by promoting increased use of the renewable material - wood. I am a strong advocate of increased use of renewable resources in construction and energy systems. Both the society and the environment will benefit from substitution of non-renewable resources by renewable resources – particularly for energy purposes, but also in construction.

Besides concrete, sustainability is a key word for this conference. Sustainability is in many fora regarded as a buzzword. For me it is a basis for political action - guiding difficult choices and strategies necessary to improve human welfare and secure important environmental values of crucial importance to the development of our societies.

The concept of sustainability has three major components: Environmental, social and economic. Neither can be withdrawn if we claim to promote sustainable development. We have to respond effectively to all three elements - simultaneously. Please allow me to elaborate a little bit on the implications:

We experience significant changes in the worlds climate due to emission of greenhouse gasses caused by human activities. This is one of the most important environmental challenges we face today. Climate change has the potential to generate significant impacts on our life and the future development of our societies. We cannot ignore this, and we cannot hesitate to make the difficult choices necessary to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gasses.

Key issues in this effort are energy use and sustainable production and consumption patterns. We have to investigate and use every opportunity to make changes that contribute to reduced consumption of energy and to put more emphasis on utilisation of renewable resources.

Production of concrete face particular challenges in this regard. The energy requirements are high, and relatively much higher than many other materials for construction. In addition concrete production is based on non-renewable resources.

I would anticipate that an important response from the concrete sector would be to develop more energy efficient production methods and have a closer look at the energy use during the lifecycle from production, construction to recycling. In any given part of the chain from production to consumption, your sector will contribute negatively to the carbon balance in the atmosphere. The challenge will be to limit these emissions, to reduce the environmental damage – but that does not make the product renewable.

My main point in the ongoing discussion in Norway on the issue of wood as an environmental friendly material is that during a significant part of the production period, wood will consume CO ₂ and release oxygen. This occurs during the long period from planting to the harvest of mature trees. In our part of the world this part of the wood production last for more than 60 years. During that period trees sequester carbon. Every tree used for commercial purposes is replaced by more than one new plant and the carbon circle continues indefinitely. In addition wood will store carbon as long as it is used for constriction purposes. It is possible to maintain a balance as long as we secure investment and sustainable management of our forests. This is a major advantage compared to fossil fuels and other non-renewable resources. This is also the core aspect of sustainable development – to secure the resource base for future generations. For this reason, utilisation of non-renewable resources will never fulfil the requirement necessary to define it sustainable, but utilisation of non-renewable resources can be less or more environmental friendly (or more accurate: less or more environmental damaging).

The environmental component of sustainability consists of more than the carbon balance. We emphasise the importance of the protection of biodiversity, to reduce the level of additives in production that may have potential negative environmental impacts as well as health and security aspects of construction materials. All types of construction materials have potentials for improvement. I can see from the program of this conference that you will use this opportunity to exchange views on possibilities to improve the environmental aspects of concrete. I find this encouraging. This is an issue that should remain high on the agenda for wood, steel and other competing materials as well.

Before I turn to other components of sustainability, I would like to reiterate that our main task is to increase the share of renewable resources for energy and construction purposes to contribute positively to the carbon balance. The core challenge is to replace fossil fuels by renewable energy sources. The current levels of fossil fuel consumption alter the carbon balance in the atmosphere and disrupt the carbon circle.

The social component of sustainability is often neglected, but it is as important as the environmental one. The social component of sustainability is about health and security issues, equal opportunities, education and competence building and basic needs, such as water and sanitation among other things. Unfortunately not even the basic needs are guaranteed for the majority of the population in many parts of the world. What does this mean to the organisations and companies involved in utilisation of resources and production of construction material: A lot!

I have limited knowledge about the linkage between the production of concrete and challenges of development in the least developing countries. I know, however, the close linkage between basic human needs and the importance of land tenure, participation and distribution of benefits from agriculture and the utilisation of forest resources. It is crucial in contributing to increase the human welfare in many parts of the world. For this reason social aspects of sustainability will climb on the international development agenda and influence the way we trade commodities and organise international cooperation. I would like to encourage you to use this conference as a point of departure for an active participation in this international effort.

The third component of sustainability is economy, or more precise: economic viability. Profit and economic return are often regarded as counterproductive to the environmental and social component of sustainability. The fact is that we need sound economic activity - responsible commercial activities - to provide a basis for improvement of the environmental and social aspects of utilisation of resources. A resource without a fair and sound economic value is basis for unsustainable activities. A relevant example is the deforestation issue. This is a major concern to all of us responsible for forest policies. We know, however, that deforestation for the majority is caused by decisions in sectors other than forestry. It is mainly due to the need for additional agricultural land in many parts of the world, particularly in the tropics. When the market does not reflect the full range of values of a natural resource, as is the case for forests, we tend to replace it by more profitable productions. We pay cheap for the commodity – wood, but we do not pay for the additional environmental goods and services provided by forests, such as carbon sequestration, biological diversity, clean water and erosion control. The forests loose in the battle of competing land use activities - deforestation occurs, and local communities suffer.

Sustainability is a powerful attractive concept, but it will be impossible to achieve in the absence of a consensus on preferences and values among different interest groups; an additional challenge will come from changes in these preferences over time.

Wood is a renewable resource. It is my privilege to continue to promote sustainable use of renewable resources. Concrete will never be renewable, but it is important to reduce the negative impact of production, distribution and consumption of concrete in order to make it more environmentally friendly and more sustainable. It is particularly important to reduce the energy requirement and the need for additives in the production process. I appreciate that you devote this conference to this important topic, and I wish you all the best in your effort.

Thank you for your attention.