Opening speech, Ny-Ålesund Symposium

Opening speech by Minister of research and higher education Tora Aasland, Ny-Ålesund Symposium, 30 June, 2008.

Dear minister Schavan, minister Sibal, senator Gaudin, ambassadors, distinguished guests,

It is an honour for me to welcome you to the Ny-Ålesund Symposium 2008. In particular I wish to welcome my colleagues from Germany and India. As you know, this year’s Symposium will focus on global climate change and research challenges.

The importance of the Symposium

Climate change is a growing threat and a challenge we must understand in a global perspective. In Polar regions such as Svalbard, early indications of climate change can easily be detected through changes in nature. This is where the effects of climate change are first observed, and it is expected that the effects will be more radical and develop faster in these areas than anywhere else. Ny-Ålesund therefore offers a unique location for a high level meeting on climate change. We will even – or rather regrettably – be able to see some effects of climate change – namely melting polar ice as a result of rising temperature – tomorrow on our boat trip on the Kings Bay. At the same time I find it appropriate to remind us all of the vulnerability of the Svalbard nature. It is a great responsibility to balance and administer the increasing  activities in and around the Polar region. We see an increase in the number of  tourists, in industry and of course also in the presence of researchers from all over the world.

The research community here at Svalbard is indeed necessary, but still it represents an extra pressure on the nature. The consequences of these activities are twofold:  A deeper understanding of sea temperature, the Golf stream, food chain and so forth, will prepare us for the future but at the same time it contributes to the emissions already threatening the environment here at Svalbard. By now, impacts of climate change on society and ecosystems are obvious also to the general public. As a result, the interest in finding solutions to the challenges of climate change has grown significantly during the last couple of years. An increasing number of people now say they are willing to make personal sacrifices in order to reduce the effects of climate change. New markets have opened up to business specializing in “green” and “climate neutral” products. Climate change is also high on the international political agenda. I am also pleased that the heirs to the Scandinavian thrones have shown an interest in climate change and related research challenges by going on a four day expedition in and around Svalbard, just last week.

As Minister of Research and Higher Education I would like to emphasize the crucial role that research plays in understanding climate change and in providing answers to pressing questions about climate change and its effects, both on nature and on societies. Through research, development and demonstration activities we hope to find new and more sustainable solutions. I look forward to going into depth in this during the Symposium. But it is essential that the results of research are turned into action and that practical measures are put into force. In order to transform the already available research into action, it is vital that this knowledge reaches both policy makers and business and industry, as well as the general public. I believe it is very fruitful to create arenas for open exchange of ideas and information between the scientific community, policy makers and business and industry, as the Symposium is an excellent example of. To be able to find solutions to the global challenges that climate change represents, different perspectives are needed. I am pleased that representatives from a number of different countries, organisations and institutions are participating in this year’s Symposium.

The next two days will offer a unique possibility for in depth discussions on various, but interconnected, issues regarding climate change. I trust that we will see that we all depend on each other: How can we for example create climate friendly solutions, if we do not possess the necessary knowledge? And what good would knowledge do if no one was willing to invest in developing and producing “green” products? Only some weeks ago  professor Helge Drange, who will be giving a presentation later today, pointed out that we so far seem to “think globally and act verbally”. I hope that this Symposium will inspire us, and again I quote professor Drange, to go from acting verbally to “thinking globally and acting locally and globally”.

Svalbard as an international research platform

For centuries Svalbard has been an arena for international activities: hunting, trapping, mining and – not least – exploring, geographical mapping and research. Ny-Ålesund has been the starting point for several international expeditions to the North Pole, some of them very dramatic. The picture is of Umberto Nobile and Amundsen’s  first North Pole expedition with the airship “Norge” in 1926. In 1928, after having crossed the North Pole, Umberto Nobile’s airship “Italia” crashed backing the ice. Several people lost their lives in the crash itself, as well as during the rescue operation, including the Norwegian “polar hero” Roald Amundsen. Even if today’s expeditions and research on Svalbard aren’t quite as hazardous as they were at Amundsen and Nobile’s time, it is possible to draw parallels from their expeditions in the High North to today’s scientific activity on Svalbard in general and in Ny-Ålesund in particular.

Firstly, both in the past and today, pioneering scientific work has been conducted here. Secondly, the scientific activity was and still is highly international in its character. As the most accessible High Arctic area in the world, Svalbard offers unique opportunities for climate research. The possibilities are excellent for collecting data that are essential for our understanding of basic natural mechanisms which influence phenomena such as deep sea currents, biological diversity and global climate change. Because of its geographical position, Svalbard functions as a natural laboratory for the study of these phenomena. In addition, Svalbard is a very interesting location for the study of geology, glaciology and many other fields. This makes Svalbard scientifically interesting in its own right. At the same time, Svalbard is a scientific incubator for knowledge of global importance.

Svalbard is therefore a research arena that should be shared by us all. I am pleased that so many nations are already doing research on Svalbard or have shown interest in Svalbard as a research arena. Ny-Ålesund in particular has become a truly international research community. Researchers from around 20 nations visit Ny-Ålesund each year, and no less than 9 countries have established permanent research stations here. As of tomorrow, the number of countries will be 10, as India officially opens its research station. Longyearbyen too hosts a truly international scientific community. I had the pleasure of experiencing that for myself last February, when I opened the Northern Lights Observatory. 16 scientific organizations from seven countries are represented with instruments in this observatory.

Svalbard is already an international research platform with a wide range of infrastructure, combining High Arctic location with easy access, and offering unique possibilities for research in many fields. Still our objective is to further develop Svalbard as an international arena for research, both by making optimal use of its facilities by strengthening the cooperation between the researchers here, and by upgrading the infrastructure. Norway has therefore proposed to develop Svalbard as an international research platform to the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructure (ESFRI). The goal of the Svalbard project is to establish an Arctic Earth Observing System in and around Svalbard that integrates the studies of geophysical, chemical and biological processes. To achieve this the project wants to organize all infrastructure and all research and monitoring activities into four observation platforms: data from land, data from the sea, data from ice and data from air and space. Furthermore, the project wants to establish a Knowledge Centre for data assessment, integration, storage and delivery, education and outreach and cooperative efforts. All this in order to benefit as much as possible from the research being carried out today on Svalbard and in order to improve tomorrow's Arctic science. I think that Svalbard will be a valuable addition to the European infrastructure and a venue for excellent research of global importance, and I am pleased that outstanding international institutions have expressed their support of the Svalbard project.

To sum up, I feel certain that we have three exciting days ahead of us and that we will all leave Ny-Ålesund with increased knowledge about climate change issues. I hope you will find the Symposium interesting and that you will enjoy Ny-Ålesund. And on Wednesday afternoon, it is time to start acting, not verbally, but locally – and, for those of you who have the chance – globally.
 
I will end by quoting the Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran: “A little knowledge that acts, is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.”

Thank you for your attention!