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The climate change, the Oslo The climate change, the Oslo meeting - and so what?meeting - and so what?

Olav Ljones

Deputy Director General

Statistics Norway

olj@ssb.no

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1. Introduction

• An increased understanding of the climate challenge

• Scientists with a broad professional and geographical background are involved in the efforts to improve the broad understanding

• But also split opinions ?

• What is the role of official statistics – and how eventually improve?

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2. The Nobel Peace Prize 2007

• The Nobel Peace Prize was given to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC and Al Gore in 2007

• the two who should be given the greatest credit for moving the climate challenge up the political agenda.– International scientific reports on climate change are

internationally distributed– Knowledge (about the climate problem) is important for shaping

the policy– Acceptance that the climate challenge is severe and there is a

need for a fact based action plan to avoid the threats from climate change,

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3. Some words about IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

• The IPCC was established in 1988 as a follow up on the Brundtland report

• assessing global change with regard to its – Degree– Causes– Consequences

• The IPCC has delivered four reports, 1990, 1995, 2001, 2007.

• http://www.ipcc.ch/

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4. UNFCCC, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

• responsible for the development of the common guidelines for calculation or estimations of emission of green house gasses.

• The emission inventories

• http://unfccc.int/2860.php

• Very relevant for a program for official statistics on GHG

• How to cooperate ?

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5. Official statistics and the environment

• Environment statistics – 30 to 40 years

• Still to develop?

• emission data (UNFCCC) started a little more than 10 years

• More and more basic environmental statistics

• System for environmental economic accounting SEEA, and The UN Committee, UNCEEA

• National variations, degree of centralised official environmental statistics.

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6. The Oslo Conference. April 2008.

• A UN, Eurostat and World Bank Conference

• Statistics Norway hosted the Conference – some link to the Nobel Prize

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7. What happened at the Oslo Conference?

• The Climate changes- measure problems not discussed

• Emission Inventories

• Some important basic statistics – e.g. energy statistics, not descussed in detail.

• Focus on emission and mitigation

• Mitigation and adaptation needs broad and consistent set of data – also from official statistics

• What is the role of official statistics in the measurement of the impacts of vulnerability and adaptation to climate change?

• How do the principles and quality claims for official statistics suit the demand for information about climate change?

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Conclusions

• The priority of the topic

• have to follow the basic principles and ideals for official statistics.

• It is important to be non political – is moving climate up the agenda to be political?

• an improved use of (existing) official statistics for a special use or should we develop new official statistics

• Do we need a special term climate statistics?

• What new basic elements – is needed ?– Trade with quotas

• Country statistics and global totals

• Analytical reports, research and the borders to official statistcis

• Sustainable development indicators