A toast for Gro

Dear Dr Brundtland, dear guests –
And, if I may, Dear Gro, 

When I was young, growing up in Bergen on Norway’s west coast, you were Prime Minister and for all Norwegians, just “Gro”. 

It is an honour to be here, 20 years after the first UN Conference on the Environment and Development in 1992, and 25 years after the World Commission on the Environment and Development issued its groundbreaking report. 

On a personal note; The Rio conference was what really triggered my interest and engagement in environmental politics. In the spring of 1990 there was a large pre-conference to Rio in my hometown Bergen. 

Young, radical and impatient, I was among the protesters filling the streets, trying to break into the conference centre. We thought the political ambitions way too low. So if somebody sees a certain irony in me being here co-hosting a dinner in honour of Gro, I get their point. 

This is a moment for celebrating what, after all, has been achieved. Child mortality is down 30 percent since 1992. School attendance is up from 58 to 78 per cent in Africa. In 1992 46 percent of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty. Now we are down to around a quarter. In 1992 we were all very concerned with acid rain and worried about the ozone layer. Through technological innovation and strengthened international legislation, we have been able to get these hazards under control. In her numerous central roles on the international stage, Gro has been an architect and driver for many of these achievements. 

But still, this should also be a moment for repeating the message that too little has been done too slowly, and that we now truly need to change the course. 

The guests here are all familiar with Gro’s achievements on the international scene. Let me therefore dwell a bit on your national legacy. 

You first entered national politics as Minister of the Environment in 1974. I believe it is right to say that you pretty much shaped modern Norwegian environmental policy. 

Furthermore, Gro was the person who paved the way for women on the national political stage. When she, as Prime Minister, formed her second government in 1986, it had more than 40 percent female cabinet members. Since then there has been no turning back. Regardless of whether a conservative or social democratic government, the benchmark has been at least 40 per cent women. 

In her many years in government she introduced a whole range of progressive legislation aimed at making it possible for men and women to participate in professional life, politics and government on equal terms. One year paid maternity leave probably being the most important. 

This has changed Norway fundamentally. Norway today has one of the largest percentages of working women in the world. Estimates show that if the women’s share of the labour force in Norway had been on the same level as the average among the OECD countries, the loss of production in Norway would be as big as our entire petroleum-assets, including the reserves currently in the ground.   

Thanks to bold and visionary policies introduced by Gro, Norway has not only one of Europe’s highest percentages of working women, but also one of Europe’s highest fertility rates. Good social policies are also smart economics! 

Norway's main side event here in Rio is devoted to how we can drive sustainable economic growth through energy access and gender equality. 

As demonstrated in Norway, drawing women into the work place is a huge driver for economic development. Access to clean energy for millions of poor could help set women free from time consuming tasks like collecting fire wood and allow them to earn a basic income contribute to the national economy. 

I believe I speak on behalf of everyone in this room, and many more in Rio and all over the world engaged in development work, in environmental work or the overarching agenda for sustainable development, when I extend our grateful thanks for your immense contributions and propose a toast for Gro!