§ 22. Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps the Government are taking to develop international initiatives to conserve the world's environment.
§ Mr. Chris PattenGlobal climate change represents the greatest threat to the world's environment and the 775W Government have called for the support of all nations in preparing an international framework convention. This call was endorsed by the governing council of the United Nations environment programme (UNEP) in June and by the economic summit in Paris on 16 July. The summit also supported the United Kingdom's proposals to phase out the use of chlorofluorocarbons, to give added momentum to international work on integrating environment and economic decision making, to safeguard tropical forests and to strengthen the United Nations environmental institutions, especially UNEP.