Written question asked by Jim Cunningham (Labour) on Thursday, 20 October 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 27 October 2005. It was answered by Elliot Morley (Labour) on Thursday, 27 October 2005 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Kyoto Protocols

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the prospects for the Kyoto protocols being adhered to in the long term.

Answer: The UK Government and the EU remain committed to the framework set out by the Kyoto protocol. It remains crucially important, as the first ever legally binding framework, to set quantified emissions reductions for developed countries. The UK Government and the EU want to build on the Kyoto protocol and its key elements such as targets and timetables, monitoring and reporting, compliance and the flexibility mechanisms for the period after 2012.In addition, on the basis of the European Commission's communication ““Winning the battle against global climate change”” (February 2005) the European Council of Ministers concluded that the EU's future climate change strategy should:"(a) Strive at the widest possible cooperation by all countries;""(b) Include all important greenhouse gases, sectors and mitigation options;""(c) Drive technological innovation, employing an optimal mix of ““push”” and ““pull”” policies, in particular in the transport and energy sector;""(d) Promote the transfer of technologies to appropriate markets;""(e) Provide for the continued use of market-based and flexible instruments, and;""(f) Support the adaptation to unavoidable climate change in all countries, particularly in the most vulnerable developing countries."However, the UNFCCC remains the place to agree on future frameworks.

Secondary information