Innlegg í pallborðsumræðum á 10. aðildarríkjaþingi Loftslagssamnings S.þ

Sigrídur Anna Thórdardóttir, Minister for the Environment, Iceland

- Impacts of climate change, adaptation measures and sustainable development,

COP-10, Buenos Aires, 16. December 2004

Mr. Chairman,

We need to reduce the human impact on climate change, but we also need to adapt, as some climate change is inevitable, even if we succeed in reaching our mitigation goals.

Climate change models are complex, and it is difficult to know exactly how climate change may affect different countries and locations in the future. Building capacity and improving resilience to natural disasters and change in general - will also help societies to adapt to climate change. We should integrate adaptation to climate change into existing strategies and programmes aimed at sustainable development.

Each country and each community must take into account its specific situation and challenges in preparing for climate change. Still, adaptation does have a global aspect. Together, we must assist those who are the most vulnerable, including Small Island Developing States. We also need to assist those who lack the resources for effective adaptation. Meetings of parties to this convention can serve as useful venues for the sharing of experiences and best practices.

The Arctic Region is experiencing climate change at a faster rate than other parts of the world. The recently released Arctic Climate Impact Assessment projects warming in the Arctic at about twice the rate of the global average. If current trends continue, we will see, among other things, a great reduction of sea ice in coming decades, and a shift in vegetation zones and animal habitats. These changes will affect the economic and social conditions of Arctic residents. They also provide important indications as to what may happen in the rest of the world in the future.

The Arctic Council, in its recent Reykjavík Declaration of Ministers, endorsed work within the Council aimed at helping Arctic residents to adapt to and manage the environmental, economic and social impacts of climate change. I am certain that the Arctic may hold lessons for other regions as regards adaptation strategies. We who live in the high north also have much to learn from others. Iceland welcomes the attention adaptation strategies have received here at COP-10, and supports continued work in this field.