Written answers

Wednesday, 18 November 2009

Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government

International Agreements

9:00 pm

Photo of Michael D HigginsMichael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 277: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will make a statement on the prospects for progress on the climate change negotiations in Copenhagen. [41914/09]

Photo of John GormleyJohn Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I refer to the statement which I made at a meeting with the Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security on 11 November 2009. Towards the end of my statement, I addressed the recently changed outlook for the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will be held in Copenhagen next month. It is now the case that a politically-binding agreement rather than a legally-binding treaty may be the outcome. This is disappointing given in particular the clear commitment of the Parties at the 13th Conference in 2007 to finalise a new treaty in 2009.

However, the EU commitment and determination to achieve a new legally-binding treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol is undiminished. The fact that it may not be achieved at the Copenhagen conference is disappointing for many Parties, including Ireland, and the focus must now be on exerting maximum pressure to finalise the new treaty in the shortest possible time.

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