Vol. 510 No. 6
308 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government whether he agrees with the views of scientists who claim that cuts ten times larger than the Kyoto Protocol provides for are needed immediately in order to avert serious climate disruption; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23528/99]
Climate change is recognised as the most important global environmental issue. The Kyoto Protocol, agreed in December 1997 under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, provides for cuts in emissions from industrialised countries of approximately 5 per cent below 1990 levels in the commitment period 2008-12. It is acknowledged that the Kyoto Protocol is only the first step in combating climate change and that it is inadequate as a long-term response. The analysis of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the authoritative source of scientific information in this regard, indicates that cuts in global emissions of CO2 of the order of 70 per cent over the next 100 years and beyond will be required to ensure stabilisation of CO2 concentrations at twice the pre-industrial levels – IPCC Second Assessment Report, Summary for Policy Makers, Figure 7.
Negotiations on the greenhouse gas emissions reductions that will be required after the Kyoto commitment period are scheduled under the protocol to begin by the middle of the coming decade.
