Professor Kvalheim, Distinguished Audience, Ladies and Gentlemen, many thanks for bringing me to Norway. As the recently appointed second president of Clintel, I have received several invitations from Clintel supporters in foreign countries, but yours is the first I have accepted. I don’t know why. Perhaps because your invitation, as well as the talk with Prof. Solheim when I met him in Brussels last December, seemed serious to me. Plus, your name Klimarealistene — for someone who considers himself a realist – sounds perfect. Once again, many thanks.
I am glad to be in Norway and to attend this gathering. I will not spoil the evening by commenting on the ongoing dramatic and extremely dangerous events in the world, especially in Iran and the broader Middle East. However, as someone who has spent the last more than 30 years in politics, I consider it almost inappropriate to pretend that everything is in order and that we should talk only about climate and about the misuse of climate sciences to progressively shape our societies. Nevertheless, I respect the topic of our meeting. I also assume that the Klimarealistene are realists in every aspect of life, not only in discussing climate. I see the recent events in Iran as a denial of realism, and I believe that all true realists must oppose it.