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Durban Climate Change Conference

The key point on legally binding treaties is that they are not a sufficient condition for dealing with the problem. We must have follow-through in national action, but such treaties are a necessary condition. I cannot think of any international problem that has been resolved without a legal framework. For example, the idea that President Reagan could have gone to Moscow and suggested that international nuclear disarmament or the strategic arms reduction treaty process could proceed with voluntary pledges would have been regarded as laughable. We have stressed, and will continue to stress, that the key objective is to ensure that this is done through a legally binding international treaty that provides everyone with an assurance that we are all moving. There is a lot of national action. One of the great myths is that we are the only country doing anything, by which I mean that when I talk to fellow Energy and Climate Change Ministers I find that they all say, ““But we're the only country doing something.”” In fact, there is a tremendous amount of action. One useful initiative I participated in was the launch of the GLOBE international study of parliamentarians interested in this area, which set out clearly the amount of action being undertaken through legislation right around the world. We will ensure that that process continues.