Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Large amounts of bituminous coal are still burnt in China. This is a major problem of which they are aware. How it is resolved is another matter. One can imagine the effect of burning bituminous coal in a city with a population of 20 million people. We all remember what it was like in Dublin city with a population of only 1 million people. The Chinese people, particularly university students, are conscious of this massive problem. Shanghai has introduced programmes for dealing with this. However, problems remain in other cities with populations of 10 million to 15 million people. Grappling with this is an enormous problem and in presentations to our delegation it was admitted as the largest challenge for the next 20 years.

See this speech in context