“We both hope and believe that the climate summit can provide the basis for a binding, international agreement,” says Oluf Ulseth, Senior Vice President, European Affairs, in Statkraft, adding that the Copenhagen summit will be a conference of the utmost importance.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has concluded that the risk of climate change due to human activity is both greater and closer than when the Kyoto agreement was negotiated in the 1990s. The goal for the negotiations during the climate summit (COP15) is to define the regulations after 2012, whether through a new international agreement or an extended Kyoto agreement.

Emissions trading and technology

One of the most important items on Statkraft’s agenda is a new international and binding climate agreement which includes a global price on greenhouse gas emissions.                                         
“We are not alone in wanting this. The biggest question is whether the parties will be able to reach a basic understanding on goals and means. This does not necessarily mean establishing a global market, but rather that connections between various markets are made through a common price,” Ulseth says. However, he emphasizes that the EU-market for emissions trading until 2020 will be the most important venue for Statkraft’s activities.

Ulseth will be present in Copenhagen together with a large Statkraft delegation to meet with politicians, scientists and media from across the globe and discuss various solutions for the environment. Through the ”101 Solutions” collaboration with Bellona, which includes a visible presence in Copenhagen, Statkraft wishes to focus on what is needed to solve the climate challenges and to create a commitment to renewable energy

“The climate conference is an important venue for us in our work to contribute to improved sustainability criteria for hydropower globally, dialogue on the further development of osmotic power and how trading in emissions rights can be further developed,” Ulseth says.