The 6th Conference of the Parties, COP6, to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change took place in The Hague from 13 to 25 November. While Ireland was represented at the full session, I attended from Sunday, 19 November to the final day, including the full ministerial segment of the conference.
The Irish position was developed as part of the overall EU negotiating position with the primary aims of ensuring that the environmental integrity of the Kyoto Protocol was maintained enabling sufficient parties to ratify it so that it could enter into force by "Rio+10", the 10th anniversary of the 1992 Earth Summit. I worked with my EU ministerial colleagues towards these ends in a ser ies of discussions and negotiations with Ministers and other Government representatives from all over the world.
The rules, modalities and guidelines for the operation of the flexible mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol, including international emissions trading, were on the agenda, and significant progress was made in regard to many issues related to these. Final agreement was not reached on the flexible mechanisms, as the COP failed to reach overall political agreement on a number of issues, including, first, specifying how the requirement for emissions trading to be supplemental to domestic action should be provided for; second, whether and how additional categories of carbon sinks might be included for the purposes of parties meeting their Kyoto obligations; third, the overall compliance obligations to apply; and, fourth, the arrangements, including financial assistance, for supporting developing countries in addressing climate change.
I am confident that with ongoing discussion, COP, on its resumption next May, will take the necessary decisions to meet the EU requirements as I have outlined them. Accordingly, the Government is proceeding with the implementation of the national climate change strategy to reduce current levels of emissions and meet our 13% limitation target under the Kyoto Protocol.