Mr. SheermenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment his Department has made of the progress of our European partners towards satisfying the recommendations of the United Nations conference on environment and development. [24986]
§ Mr. AtkinsThe primary responsibility for carrying forward the commitments entered into at the Rio Earth summit lies with individual countries. At the request of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, EU colleagues adopted an action plan to implement the Rio commitments. Progress on meeting these commitments, and reviewing them as appropriate, is discussed at international fora such as the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, and the recent Berlin meeting of parties to the convention on climate change. The European Community's fifth environmental action programme, "Towards Sustainability", is linked closely to the principles and themes of Agenda 21. The UK is contributing fully to the present review of the programme by the European Commission.