§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposal on the costing of environmental protection arising from(a) the Marrakesh meeting on the implementation of the Uruguay round by GATT and (b) recent EU council decisions he intends to put to the forthcoming meeting of the G7 in Naples.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeI have been asked to reply.
At Marrakesh in April, Ministers decided that the World Trade Organisation should establish a committee on trade and environment. G7 leaders at the Naples summit welcomed the new World Trade Organisation's work on trade and the environment.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment reported the outcome of the last EU Environment Council meeting in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Sir K. Carlisle) on 17 June, Official Report, column 671. G7 leaders at the Naples summit said that they supported the work of the Commission on Sustainable Development in reviewing progress in the implementation of the Rio process.
They also welcomed the restructuring and the replenishment of the global environment facility and supported its choice as the permanent financial mechanism of the biological diversity and climate change conventions.
784Wpractical reforms to reduce conflict and litigation, and to improve productivity and competitiveness. The Government are now considering the report and the recommendations contained in it.
A conference, organised by the industry groups involved in the review, is being held on 25 July. It will provide a platform for Government, the construction industry and its clients to give an initial response to the report's recommendations.