"Melting Snow and Ice - a Call for Action".

Distinguished ministers, participants in the debate on climate change, climate researchers, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a privilege for me to be here and to represent Greenland at this side event focusing on climate change and the consequences of climate change in the Arctic in general, and for the Greenland Ice Sheet in particular.

The Greenland Ice Sheet in a Changing Climate (the GRIS) assessment is important in several respects. First of all, the GRIS project is the first comprehensive assessment focusing on the consequences of climate change on the Greenland Ice Sheet. I want to thank Professor Dahl Jensen and her team of researchers for taking on the challenge of documenting changes in the Greenland Ice Sheet in pre-historic times and using this data to understand changes observed today.

Second, the assessment is also a valuable contribution to the Arctic Council SWIPA project - Climate Change and the Cryosphere: Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic. I would like to thank the members of the Arctic Council for investing resources in studying the Greenland Ice Sheet. I hope that the assessment will help decision-makers understand the importance of reaching an ambitious agreement for the Post-Kyoto period.

Finally, I want to thank the governments of Norway and Denmark for hosting this important side event.

Research in climate change is ever important. We need to make wise decisions for the future, and these decisions must be based on sound knowledge when developing both mitigation strategies and strategies for adaptation to climate change.

Findings like the ones presented today will help the Arctic region to prepare for the future. Therefore, I am pleased to be present at this side event and to receive this important assessment together with the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The changes in the Greenland Ice Sheet has the potential to influence global climate and ocean circulation, and these feedback mechanisms has the potential to effect the environment and nature as well as human societies in the Arctic and around the globe.

Models lend credence to the suggestion of a threshold – a point of no return where we will experience irreversible melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet and lasting changes in sea levels. The sheer risk of our generation tipping the balance reminds us of the importance of reaching an agreement here in Copenhagen.

Research in climate change and the effects of climate change on our societies is extremely vital. Just three weeks ago I participated in the opening of the new Climate Research Centre in Nuuk, Greenland.

The Greenland Climate Research Centre is founded on the traditions of both natural and social sciences, and I am confident that the centre will contribute with valuable research on Arctic environment and nature and Arctic societies and culture in a changing climate.

I would therefore take the opportunity to invite researchers studying climate change and the effects of climate change on society to come and share their knowledge with us.

I will take the opportunity here to share with you the challenges and openings that Greenland is facing.

In Greenland, the economic survival of the hunters is in peril and the changes in climate affect the natural resources upon which both hunters and fishermen depend. Dramatic changes in sea ice cover and glaciers are affecting the eco-systems of the Arctic, which sustain life for marine and terrestrial mammals and fish.

Greenland is a young democracy and Self-Governance was introduced this summer. Our society is based on a strong culture and a people, who have lived off nature for generations. But Greenland is also a modern society that needs to invest in the future – we need to invest in education for our young, in our health sector, in improved housing and in business development in order for us to stand on our own feet. In order for us to have the funds and invest heavily in these parts of society, we need to strengthen our economy and create new industries. This is the complex reality of Greenland.

Like other countries at the bridge of industrial development, Greenland has come to Copenhagen to draft a new agreement that will reduce emissions globally while at the same time taking into account the principle of common, but differentiated responsibilities.

Greenland will whole-heartedly invest in the development of renewable energy, in particular in hydropower energy. Over the last twenty years we have invested 1 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product annually on renewable energy, and hydropower energy make up 43 per cent of our electricity. Our goal is to increase the share of renewable energy in our society to 60 per cent by 2020.

Furthermore, we will focus mitigation strategies on important sectors like the fisheries, where there is a potential for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. And we will create new economic incentives for the entire population to cut emissions from our society.

But as I mentioned earlier, Greenland will introduce new industries. Greenland has rich natural resources of hydrocarbons off both the east and the west coast, and we have rich resources of minerals.

Another resource is the vast energy resources formed by melt water from the Greenland Ice Sheet. Greenland will host energy-intensive industries which can be based on renewable energy and thereby contribute in reduction of global emissions of greenhouse gasses.

Reducing global emissions of greenhouse gasses and leaving a green and healthy planet for future generations is one of the major challenges facing us today. But while facing the challenges of global warming we must also see that countries at the bridge of industrial development find room to meet the needs and aspirations of the populations bringing them at level with people in the industrialized countries. We have common, but differentiated responsibilities, and this needs to be reflected in a new global climate agreement.

Qujanaq

Thank you.

More info about Naalakkersuit in COP15 (in danish)