The fifth conference of the parties of UN's Climate Convention will be staged in Bonn, Germany, from 25 October to 5 November. Statoil participates with one observer.
Senior vice president for health, the environment and safety (HES) in Statoil, Arve Thorvik, says it is hoped that the parties will come closer to an action plan for following up the protocol from the climate conference in Kyoto, Japan in 1997.
Key elements of the Kyoto protocol are international emissions trading, collaboration on joint implementation of environmental projects between signatory countries, and international transfer of environmental technology to countries which have so far not signed the protocol.
"We hope we will get a step further towards clarity on how and when measures can be implemented," Mr Thorvik says. "As far as cooperation with developing countries is concerned, this is interesting to Statoil in connection with our operations in Angola, Azerbaijan and Venezuela."
He believes there will still be some way to go, perhaps up to ten years, before trading with greenhouse gas emission quotas has been properly established.
The Norwegian government has appointed a committee assigned to propose by the end of the year how Norway can implement an emissions trading programme. The aim is to meet Norwegian climate obligations in a cost-effective manner. Gerd Halmø, HES manager for Statoil's European Gas business area, is on the committee, representing the industry. She says a number of countries are working to establish programmes for emissions trading.
"The purpose of this is to have the system running during the target period 2008 - 2012," Ms Halmø explains. "To succeed, we must have its framework ready well in advance."
The international climate convention was adopted at UN's summit for environment and development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It forms the basis for the climate protocol passed at the Kyoto conference in 1997.