Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon has called for more efforts in the fight against climate change. Haakon asked the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday whether enough had been done so far – and gave the answer himself. “Unfortunately, the honest answer to this question so far is no – we haven’t done enough and we’re not making progress fast enough.” At the same time, he praised Germany as a pioneer and global role model for a rapid energy transition.
On the third day of his trip to Germany, Haakon was a guest at a German-Norwegian conference at the Chamber of Commerce, which was primarily about a climate-friendly transformation of the economy. Afterwards, a harbor tour was planned, during which the 50-year-old wanted to find out, among other things, how the aircraft industry and port economy can become more climate-friendly with the help of hydrogen. In the afternoon the Crown Prince wanted to travel on to Berlin, where Crown Princess Mette-Marit was waiting for him.
Conference part of the solution
At the Chamber of Commerce, Haakon called the conference part of the solution in the fight against climate change. At the beginning of the year, Norway and Germany agreed to build a strategic partnership in the areas of climate, renewable energy and green industry. The topics include hydrogen, shipping, offshore wind power, CO2 storage and battery technologies.
Norway works closely with Germany, emphasized Haakon, referring, for example, to the partnership between the aluminum producer Norsk Hydro and the car manufacturers Porsche and Mercedes. He also mentioned the building materials company Heidelberg Materials, which is building the world’s first carbon capture system in a cement plant in Norway. In addition, the world’s first hydrogen-powered car ferry – Hydra – is now in regular service in Norway “and, interestingly, is powered by hydrogen imported from Germany,” said Haakon.
Haakon as well as Norway’s Economics Minister Jan Christian Vestre and the Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland had previously met in a small group with prime ministers and state councilors from the northern German states as well as business representatives. It was about an exchange about energy supply in general and hydrogen in particular.
On the German side, the Federal Council President and Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig (SPD), Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU), Lower Saxony’s Economics Minister Olaf Lies (SPD), the State Councilor and representative of the city of Hamburg at the federal level appeared in the plenary hall of the Chamber of Commerce , Almut Möller, and Bremen’s State Councilor for Economic Affairs Martin Bialluch.
