Tine Sundtoft to identify areas for co-operation in the Nordic Region’s environmental sector
“The Nordic Region has played and continues to play a key role in aggressive policy-making in relation to the environment and climate. It’s vital that we take advantage of every opportunity to work together. Doing so gives us a stronger voice in Europe and globally,” Sundtoft says, who will enter into discussions with Nordic and international politicians and community stakeholders in the early spring.
The Nordic Council of Ministers has recently completed strategic reviews of social welfare and health, the labour market, and the energy sector. The process will culminate in a report with between 10 and 15 specific and action-oriented proposals for deeper co-operation at the Nordic level over a 5 to 10-year period in environment-related areas or topics. The recommendations shall take into account binding EU co-operation and other international collaborations.
The Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers Dagfinn Høybråten feels that Sundtoft is the natural choice for the job.
“Tine is very familiar with the environmental sector and her experience at the local, regional, national, Nordic, and global level will be a huge advantage when she starts analysing the potential for future Nordic co-operation in the area,” Høybråten says.
Norway’s current Minister of Climate and Environment and President of the Nordic Council of Ministers for the Environment in 2017, Vidar Helgesen, is especially pleased that Sundtoft has been chosen to lead these efforts, which he considers hugely important.
“She’s done a fantastic job as Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment, and has the necessary experience of national and international environmental policy. Similarly, she has the distance needed to be able to advise on how Nordic co-operation on the environment can gain even more impact,” Helgesen says.
During her time as a minister Sundtoft, who currently serves as a county court judge for the Vest-Agder county administration, played an active role in the climate negotiations of the Paris Agreement.
“We’re in the midst of great upheaval – the Paris Agreement means the whole world must be moulded into a low-emission society. If not, we will end up destroying the environment and our climate. It’s very exciting to be involved in and influence current efforts on the back of the Paris Agreement,” says Sundtoft.
“In my current role as the administrative head of the county administration, I’m also working to put change into practice. We need a practical environmental policy in which everyone in society can identify their role, especially the business community, which is instrumental in the green transition.”
Sundtoft will submit her final recommendations to the Nordic Council of Ministers in the first quarter of 2018.
