§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they consider recent evidence on the likelihood of an average rise in surface temperature worldwide to be authoritative enough to require policy co-ordination within government departments.
§ The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Lord Elton)Evidence for an increase in global temperature is sufficiently authoriative to be taken seriously. Much still needs to be learnt about the causes, magnitude, and consequences of the phenomenon, and the Meteorological Office, which is the main UK centre of expertise, participates actively in the World Climate Research Programme and other relevant international studies. The Department of the Environment keeps policy under constant review. New inter-department co-ordinating mechanisms are not required; the prime need is for further investigation on a global scale.