Norway supports the Copenhagen Accord

Norway expressed 25. January 2010 its support for the Copenhagen Accord of 18. December 2009 in a letter to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Accord was negotiated by heads of States and Governments during the last day of the climate conference in Copenhagen. Norway`s emissions targets for inclusion in Appendix I to the Accord will follow in a separate submission before the set deadline of 31. January 2010.

- Norway will do its utmost to build on this Accord and will continue to work towards an ambitious outcome at the UN Climate Change Conference in Mexico this year. The agreement should meet the world’s expectations for effective climate action, says Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim.

He underlines the importance of the Accord recognizing the scientific view that the global temperature increase should be below 2°C above pre-industrial level, and the need for deep cuts in global emissions according to science as documented by the Fourth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

- The Accord is only a first step, but it represents a breakthrough on several issues which are important for making progress in the negotiations. A small group of countries blocked the possibility of consensus on the Accord at the Climate Conference, and the Accord is therefore dependent on active support from countries that see it as a step forward towards results that we so urgently need, Solheim says.

Minister Solheim greatly appreciates the news that China, India, South Africa and Brazil have expressed support for the Accord, and re-emphasized their commitment to working together with all other countries to ensure an agreed outcome in Mexico later this year.

- This is an important political signal which will help to ensure the follow-up of the Copenhagen Accord, he says.

Information on Norway’s emission target will be submitted separately within the set deadline of 31. January 2010.