§ Mr. GummerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage the United States to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. [67967]
§ Mr. PrescottI have been asked to reply.
It is important that all countries who agreed the Kyoto Protocol on climate change sign and ratify it, but it is particularly important that the US, as the world's largest emitter, should do so. Under the chairmanship of the UK, all G8 countries agreed last spring to sign the Protocol within a year; and the US did so during the Buenos Aires Climate Change Conference in November. The UK continues to play a significant role in international negotiations to finalise the rules on how the Protocol will operate, with the aim of promoting early ratification by all countries, including the US.
I met Vice-President Al Gore on January 30, and climate change was among the matters discussed.