Nordic Ministers for the Environment and Climate call for climate ambition and action

The alarming findings in latest the IPCC reports underline the urgency to step up the scale and pace of efforts to curb climate change.

COP 27 must demonstrate significant progress within all sectors bringing together all stakeholders in this critical decade.

All countries must align their nationally determined contributions s and long term low emission strategies with 1,5 degrees.

Mayor emitters (G20) who have not yet done so need to realize faster and deeper cuts than promised in their NDCs to date well in advance of COP 27, with the view to contribute to keep the 1,5 degrees objective within reach.

Finland's Minister for Environment and Climate, Emma Kari: 

“IPCC’s latest report emphasizes the urgent need of rapid and effective measures in all of society. We, the Nordics, have a lot to offer in promoting climate action. With our innovative energy, waste and circular solutions we can and we will lead the way in achieving climate targets.”

Norway's Minister for Climate and Environment, Espen Barth Eide:

“The energy transition must go faster and deeper. We condemn in the strongest possible way the unprovoked and illegal attack on Ukraine by Russia with the assistance of Belarus. The need for independence from energy imports from Russia must lead to a fast and permanent reduction in energy demand and shift towards renewable energy.”

The Nordic countries reaffirmed their aim to be leaders in the transition to [net zero and] low emission societies. All Nordic countries will actively pursue a 1,5 degree limit to global warming, through ambitious targets and implementation for a climate neutral Europe in 2050.

Denmark's Minister for Climate Dan Jørgensen:

“We need a global green transition now more than ever. We are not on track to reaching the goals of the Paris Agreement, and with a potential energy crisis looming over the world as a consequence of President Putin’s unjustified and unprovoked attack on Ukraine, the urgency of accelerating the deployment of renewables and phasing out fossil fuel is clearer than ever. The Nordic region has many of the answers and solutions to a more sustainable future.”

Sweden's Minister for Climate and the Environment, Annika Strandhäll:

“Nordic countries highlight both the urgency and opportunity of climate action. Accelerating the transition brings new jobs and economic opportunities, building the carbon neutral economies of tomorrow. Nordic policy development and Nordic business actors can provide inspiration and solutions that facilitate the transition globally.”

Many of the solutions exists and must be scaled up. The Nordic countries highlight that they will:

• maintain and enhance a high price on carbon in their economies as an essential and effective tool for long term transformation towards carbon neutrality.
• pursue ambitious roadmaps to stimulate green and competitive industry and businesses
• ensure that that the transition towards carbon neutrality must be a just transition, through  the Nordic model and that tri-partite cooperation forms a solid basis for just transition in Nordic countries.
• contribute to the implementation of the methane pledge from Glasgow.
• promote carbon storage in forests, soils and geological formations, alongside the pursuit of a bio-based economy, as this will be increasingly important in the coming decades. Nordic countries have considerable, although differentiated potentials for such sequestration. This can be an important part of future international cooperation, also in a European context.
• accelerate the transition towards a more circular economy to help reach climate and biodiversity goals
• advance their work on gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, as set out in the recent UN session on gender equality (CSW66) and continue to follow up on this agenda.

Iceland’s Minister for Environment, Energy and Climate, Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson:

“The Nordic countries are a wellspring of green solutions, but we need to scale them up at home and export abroad. This applies to renewable energy, carbon capture and many other climate-friendly solutions. The present crisis of energy insecurity adds to the urgency of clean energy transition. We have given ourselves ambitious targets, now we must act.“

Nordic countries confirmed that they will continue their active engagement with international partners to advance the global climate agenda and continue to be among the world’s foremost providers of climate finance. This includes a commitment to the agreement on enhanced adaptation finance from Glasgow including the call for doubling of adaptation finance by 2025.