With the aim of lowering CO2 emissions, increasing the use of renewable energy and improving energy efficiency, the EU's 2020 strategy has created an additional basis for regional, national and European initiatives to increase green growth.

One of the matters to be raised at the conference in Riga is what are the opportunities and synergies inherent in working together on this in the Baltic Sea region. Halldór Ásgrímsson has great faith in such co-operation.

"The Nordic Council of Ministers places high priority on green growth. We believe that the EU's strategy for the Baltic Sea region offers further opportunities to develop the region into a leader in green growth", says the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

All the Nordic countries have developed national strategies for green growth, and in 2010 the Nordic prime ministers agreed to make green growth a market index for the Nordic countries future inter-governmental co-operation. A task force under the prime ministers' globalisation forum in Finland on 21 June this year will present its recommendations for how this can be realised.

"I am looking forward to the conference where we can jointly come up with recommendations and conclusions on how the Baltic Sea region can become a leading region with low CO2 emissions and increased income and job opportunities within the green economy", says Halldór Ásgrímsson.

The conference Green Growth in the Baltic Sea Region will take place in Riga on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 May.

Ane Kofod Petersen
Phone +45 3396 0254
Email akp@norden.org

Silje Bergum Kinsten
Phone +45 33 96 02 51
Email siki@norden.org