State Secretary Kallset participated in the G20 ministerial meeting in South Africa

State Secretary Kristine Kallset has this week represented Norway at the G20 ministerial meeting in Cape Town, South Africa. The ministers have discussed how to respond to the growing challenges posed by natural disasters.

“This week, the Norwegian delegation, together with high-level representatives from the G20, reached agreement on a joint declaration outlining how we will address the increasingly complex challenges resulting from more frequent and extreme natural disasters,” said Kallset.

In the G20’s work on disaster risk reduction, Norway has emphasized the importance of preparing for future crises. This should be done through sound risk awareness, while also ensuring that local communities and critical societal functions become more resilient. At the same time, we must build preparedness to handle the crises we are unable to prevent.

“Extreme weather events such as Amy earlier this month and Hans in 2023 are examples of how natural incidents are striking with greater force and intensity. These events entail enormous societal costs, but thanks to investments made by Norwegian authorities—such as the emergency alert system Nødvarsel—no lives have been lost,” said Kallset.

The work on alerting the population in advance of and during ongoing crises (early warning systems) was a particular focus at this year’s G20 meeting, and Norway contributed with its experience.

Risk reduction and prevention must be carried out at the local, regional, and national levels. International cooperation is essential so that we can collectively reduce risk and disaster impact on affected populations. Instability in other parts of the world also affects our own national security.

“For the second time in the G20, the ministers today succeeded in agreeing on a declaration for continued efforts to protect the world’s population from the consequences of climate change and extreme weather. I am pleased to have taken part in this important work,” said Kallset.

Read the declaration here:  https://g20drrwg.preventionweb.net/media/111531/download