Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I have asked the relevant officials to support the idea of close co-operation between the Oireachtas joint committee and the expert panel on climate change and energy security. I have written to the Chairman of the joint committee to suggest that the best means of achieving such co-operation is to engage in discussions with the relevant officials. We await the outcome of that process. The members of the informal expert advisory panel on climate change — those who are offering us advice — are Professor Stefan Proost, who works in the faculty of business and economics, within the department of economics, at the University of Leuven in Belgium; Professor Alan Matthews, who is a professor of European agricultural policy in the department of economics, within the school of social sciences and philosophy, at Trinity College Dublin; Professor Frank Convery, who is a professor of environmental studies in the college of human sciences, within the school of geography, planning and environmental policy, at University College Dublin and is also the chairman of Comhar; Professor Thomas Sterner, who is a professor of environmental economics at the University of Gothenburg; Mr. Jack Short, who is the secretary general of the International Transport Forum; Mr. Paul Watkiss, who is an independent consultant specialising in environmental and economic policy advice; Professor Brendan Walsh, who is the professor emeritus of economics at University College Dublin; and Professor Peter Clinch, who is a special adviser to the Department of the Taoiseach. I have not yet heard who will attend the Copenhagen summit. I am sure there are plenty of rumours and views on who will or will not attend. I hope the summit will take place. I think many Governments will be represented at the summit at the highest level. The heads of government and state focus on this urgent global issue whenever the European Council meets. It is usually an important item on the agenda. I am not quite sure to what Deputy McManus referred when she spoke about overseas development aid. It is obvious that we will seek to meet our burden-sharing commitments, just as everybody else will.

See this speech in context