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Norway officials will visit the University of Minnesota to inform climate policy
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL ( 9/18/2008 ) -- Top government officials and representatives from Norway will visit the University of Minnesota from Sept. 21-23. During their stay, the group will gather information to help the Ministry of Agriculture and Food prepare a white paper on climate policy for the Norwegian parliament. Ola Heggem, Norway's state secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, will lead the delegation, together with Per Harald Grue, secretary general in the Ministry. They will be accompanied by other ministry officials along with scientists and active research members of the recently appointed Climate Research Advisory Board in Norway. "The delegates will draw on the expertise and perspectives at the University of Minnesota to develop an integrated carbon, nitrogen and energy approach for their agriculture sector," said professor Judson Sheridan, the Norwegian centennial interdisciplinary chair in the College of Biological Sciences and international coordinator for the Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment. The three-day itinerary will feature presentations, breakout sessions and research posters on topics ranging from biofuel issues and climate-related effects on agriculture to full-cost accounting and carbon sequestration policies. Among the University of Minnesota participants are Jonathan Foley, director of the Institute on the Environment; Peter Reich, a Regents professor in the department of forest resources; Mark Seeley, a professor in the department of soil, water and climate; Bill Berguson, a program director with the Natural Resources Research Institute; Elizabeth Wilson, an assistant professor in the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs; and several other experts from various disciplines. During a lunchtime address on Tuesday, Gene Hugoson, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, will share insights and lessons learned from Minnesota agriculture with the Norwegian officials. In addition to meeting with leading scientists from across the University, the delegates will tour research facilities including the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve in East Bethel, Minn. -- the site of pioneering research on biodiversity and alternative biofuels approaches. On Monday, Norway Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg will tour the Cedar Creek facility as part of a separate-but-related visit organized by the Honorary Norwegian Consulate General. He will participate in similar poster sessions and conversations with university researchers. Before returning to Norway, the delegates also plan to visit the Agricultural Research Center in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. ---------- |
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