§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what penalties will be applied to the United Kingdom if it fails to meet the legally binding Kyoto greenhouse gas emission targets; and if he will make a statement. [97626]
§ Mr. MeacherI have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister and I have recently returned from the Fifth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The issue of the development of a compliance system for the Kyoto Protocol was one of the key points of discussion at that meeting.
The UK, along with other EU member states, believes that there should be a strong, robust and comprehensive system of compliance for ensuring Parties meet their emissions reductions targets and other commitments undertaken under the Kyoto Protocol. The detailed design of the compliance system for the Protocol, including a full range of actions for failure to meet the Kyoto targets, is still being discussed.
§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the likely effect on carbon dioxide emissions of the conversion of oil to gas; and if he will make a statement. [97627]
§ Mrs. LiddellNo such assessment has been made. Compared with the combustion of oil, the combustion of natural gas to meet a particular energy demand usually produces lower emissions of carbon dioxide, due to its lower carbon content.