Oslo, Norway – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today met with Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg and convened a first-of-its-kind meeting with representatives of the world's leading independent national academies of science to review climate impacts and discuss how scientists and policymakers can more effectively translate research findings into meaningful action.
"The goal is action – action in Bonn, action in California, action throughout the world – to get on a sustainable track,” said Governor Brown a day ahead of his arrival in Bonn, Germany, where he will serve as Special Advisor for States and Regions at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23). “The challenge before us is to inject science and plain truth into our politics.”
The Governor began his day at the official state residence in Oslo, where he met with Prime Minister Solberg to discuss climate impacts on oceans and forests, renewable energy and zero-emission vehicles. This meeting follows Norway’s Climate and Environment Minister Vidar Helgesen's visit to California earlier this year to announce Norway's membership in the Under2 Coalition.
After meeting with Prime Minister Solberg, Governor Brown joined Minister Helgesen for a day-long roundtable discussion with scientists representing the independent national scientific academies of the United States, Norway, United Kingdom, Germany, China, Finland, Canada, Sweden, France and Denmark.
During this first-of-its-kind meeting, scientists and policymakers discussed stark findings from climate research on habitat and biodiversity loss, human health impacts and environmental degradation. Participants also focused on how scientific facts can be more effectively communicated and disseminated to drive action and better inform policy and decision-making.
Today's meeting builds on an initiative spearheaded by Governor Brown four years ago called the consensus statement, which synthesized key scientific findings from disparate fields into one unified message signed by more than 1,500 international scientists and researchers.
The following scientists participated in today's gathering: Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters president Ole M. Sejersted and secretary general Øystein Hov; University of Oslo professor Nils Chr. Stenseth; Stanford University Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve executive director Anthony Barnosky; Stanford University professor Elizabeth Hadly; Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters member and University of Helsinki professor Mikael Fortelius; Royal Swedish Academy vice president Martin Jakobsson; Royal Danish Academy member and University of Copenhagen professor Carsten Rahbek; U.S. National Academy of Sciences president Marcia McNutt; Royal Society of Canada former president and McGill University professor Graham Bell; French Academy of Sciences and Academia Europaea member and University of Strasbourg professor Yvon le Maho; German National Academy of Sciences member and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research director Hans Joachim Schellnhuber; Royal Society of London fellow John Shepherd; and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Zoology principal investigator Zhi-Bin Zhang.
Tomorrow in Bonn, Governor Brown will join fellow America's Pledge co-founder United Nations Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change Michael Bloomberg to discuss the ongoing efforts of U.S. cities, states and businesses to support the Paris Agreement goals, join business leaders in a panel discussion on decarbonizing the economy, and host a signing ceremony to welcome another U.S. state to the Under2 Coalition.
Over the past week in Brussels, Belgium, Governor Brown delivered opening remarks at a high-level conference on clean energy organized by the European Parliament and European Commission; met with the president of the European Parliament and the European Union's top representatives at COP23; joined members of the European Parliament's top climate and environmental committee and the leaders of the Parliament's political parties for an extensive discussion on opportunities for further collaboration on climate action; and highlighted California's local and global efforts to fight climate change at an event organized by the German Marshall Fund. In Stuttgart, Germany, the Governor also met with Under2 Coalition co-founder Baden- Württemberg's Minister-President and delivered remarks before the state parliament. Last Saturday, Governor Brown delivered keynote remarks at a symposium on climate change hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences at the Vatican.
Governor Brown was named Special Advisor for States and Regions in June by Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama – president of COP23. The Governor continues to build strong coalitions of partners committed to curbing carbon pollution in both the United States through the U.S. Climate Alliance and around the globe with the Under2 Coalition, which has grown to include 188 jurisdictions collectively representing more than 1.2 billion people and $28.9 trillion GDP – equivalent to over 16 percent of the global population and 39 percent of the global economy.
The Governor also joined Michael Bloomberg to launch America's Pledge on climate change to help compile and quantify the actions of states, cities and businesses to drive down their greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement. In September 2018, the State of California will convene the world's climate leaders in San Francisco for the Global Climate Action Summit, where representatives from subnational governments, businesses, investors and civil society will gather with the direct goal of supporting the Paris Agreement.
