The Prime Minister's introductory remarks at the meeting with John Kerry and representatives of the First Movers Coalition

Transcript (based on the audio recording)

Thank you.

Let me first start saluting you, the very first mover, Special Envoy Kerry – John, I think you have been an inspiring example of what it means to travel around the world to keep hammering in the message, in a very inspiring way, not only moving businesses, but also governments and people.

Second, I am proud to see that of those seven companies (here today) that were first movers in this Alliance, by and large, they are among the seven biggest companies in the Norwegian economy, so this is not some kind of ‘fringe activity’ – as if we, sort of, ‘found’ those companies – no, they ‘found themselves’. So, they are the ones who employ people, they are the ones who runs research, set targets for research, and they have to deliver in practice, at the markets.

When we sat in Dubai (COP28) at the session of green shipping, Special Envoy Kerry and I – this was an initiative launched by the two of us the year before, in Sharm el-Sheikh – we could take note of the fact that in one year, without any institution or secretariat or anything else, the movers had been moving, so I am proud to see Hoegh Autoliners, Yara International – Yara is not, initially, a shipping company, but you know Yara is shipping essential goods.

I have no right to say that I myself am proud, but I was pleased to see that there is an initiative going, which is very positive. So, we have to believe in the fact, as we say, in a Norwegian saying, that we can cut emissions and create jobs. It is the job creators who have to deliver proof to people that those two things are possible at the same time. Because if the reverse message is there, that we are going to to cut jobs and cut emissions, that will not work. So, that is the equation we have to make sure.

My last point here, before I look forward to listening to the companies who all have their stories to tell: I made a point of this in my New Year’s Speech, this was about not a Norwegian ‘first mover’ but about Mapei, an Italian company, ranging among the first movers, I believe. Now, I went up there, they have a research centre in one of the valleys outside Oslo, you have to drive a long road through the woods, and you get to their factory, producing cement, and they have a research department of about 150 people, and they have proven that they can produce a new ‘stuff’ that you mix into cement, and emissions go down. So, as John Kerry reminded us about yesterday, this ‘hard-to-date notion’; it is important to explain to people the difference between capturing C02 and that you can ‘zero’ out things, but then there is cement and there is waste and but even the ‘hard-to-date’ can get to zero; there can be ‘green’ aluminum, and there can be, potentially, ‘green’ cement, which amounts for 9 procent of the industry’s CO2 emissions in the world, and they said that they could, probably, get to almost zero, so I think that is hopeful.

And my last point here is that when we said that we are between 1,6 and 1,9 degrees (scenarios) if we ‘factor in’ technology in the energy change now happening – John Kerry was mentioning yesterday, at the current speed, we are at 2,5 which is far too high – but a couple of years ago, we were talking about 3,5, so I think again, if we factor in technology and if we factor in using the market forces in the right way, 1,6-1,9 gives us a signal that it is possible, and that is why I still raise my hand and say; it is possible. But it will take a lot, and it will really demand the best of our industries, and that is what I like about the First Movers – that they have to prove every day that they are world class. And this has to be world class. So, thank you John and thank you for your clear messages.