Nils Morten Udgaard, former Foreign Affairs Editor of Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, moderated the conference. Drawing on the expertise of speakers such as MEP Chris Davies and Professor Thomas L. Brewer, climate and trade specialist at Georgetown University, the goal of the conference was to address how EU and the EFTA countries together can take the lead in the post-Bali negotiations and contribute to an ambitious global climate agreement in Copenhagen next year.
Among the participants were: Ms Liv Monica Bergam Stubholt, State Secretary for the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, Mr Frederic Hauge, President of Bellona, and Mr Oliver Schaefer, Policy Director for the European Renewable Energy Council.
The venue for the conference was Solstrand Hotel, outside Bergen. The full-day conference was followed by a dinner in the evening and, on Tuesday, 14 October, an excursion to Mongstad, where Statoil is developing a carbon capture and storage (CCS) test facility.
The two EFTA Committees organise a joint conference every two years. With the increasing focus on climate change, this year they have agreed to address how Europe – the EU and the EFTA countries together – can take the lead in the post-Bali negotiations and contribute to an ambitious global climate agreement in Copenhagen next year.
The conference consisted of three sessions: one on trade and climate, looking at the rapidly expanding climate-trade agenda in the post-Bali period and the relationship between the WTO and Copenhagen agendas; a second session on the EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS), looking at the workings of the scheme (is it working the way it was intended to?), its expansion and the extent to which it is likely to become a global tool/instrument; and finally, a session on "the extended toolbox", debating different tools available to fight climate change such as renwable energy, biofuels, CCS, and nuclear energy.
The conference had approximately 100 participants, representing parliaments and social partners all over Europe, as well as other relevant stakeholders in the energy and climate field.
All documents concerning the conference can be downloaded here:
EFTA Consultative Committee opinion on "Energy, climate and trade - time for increased cooperation"