§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what talks he has had with his EU counterparts regarding the disintegration of Antarctic ice shelves. [13271]
§ Mr. ClappisonBritish Antarctic Survey scientists, reporting recently in the scientific journalNature, Vol. 379, about the disintegration of Antarctic ice shelves, were unable to determine whether this was a result of global climate change due to greenhouse gases or part of a long-term natural oscillation.
The Council of Environment Ministers at their last meeting in December noted that the recent findings of the intergovernmental panel on climate change concerning the threat of damage from climate change underline the necessity for urgent action at the widest possible level. If the disintegration of Antarctic ice shelves should prove to be due to greenhouse gas warming, the Council would need to consider what further action to take.