Taoiseach to Attend UN Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen
The Taoiseach, Brian Cowen TD will travel to Copenhagen today (Thursday) for the final two days of the UN Climate Change Summit. Over 100 Heads of State and Government are expected to participate in the remaining sessions of the summit, and will meet over dinner on Thursday night and again in plenary sessions on Friday.
The summit has been under way since last week. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley, is already in Copenhagen representing Ireland in the negotiations so far this week.
The participants are working to put in place a new, global agreement on tackling climate change, which would come into effect in 2013 as a successor to the Kyoto Protocol which runs to 2012. The Taoiseach described climate change as "a real and serious threat to life on earth", and said that "global problems, like climate change, require global responses". The USA and China which, between them, are responsible for over 50% of global emissions, are not parties to the Kyoto Protocol. A new agreement, to which all key nations are parties, is now seen as essential.
Ireland's negotiating position is being advanced within the overall approach of the European Union, which has made a unilateral commitment of 20% emission reductions by 2020, with a promise to go to 30% if other key parties make comparable commitments. The EU has also made substantial funding commitments to assist developing nations in their climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.
Ends.