Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-01-10-Speech-1-052"
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"en.20050110.12.1-052"2
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".
Mr President, if the results of the Conference of Parties in Buenos Aires are better than expected, the Commission's expectations must have been very low when they started out. The Commissioner has now been baptised into the hard world of climate change negotiations. I hope it has given him a taste for resolving the problems and bringing the world together behind a common purpose.
The people of Carlisle are today having to cope with the worst floods on record, an unparalleled deluge of rain having fallen in recent days. I hope that the House will join me in paying tribute to the emergency services, the voluntary organisations and many individuals for the work that they have undertaken in trying to alleviate the situation and, in particular, for their efforts in helping the elderly and others in greatest difficulty.
It is not possible to declare with certainty that these floods are an indication of global warming, but extreme weather events have been highlighted as one of the consequences of climate change. Events in Carlisle are one reason why it is so important that the EU should continue to lead the world in developing policies to combat the effects of global warming.
The British Government has declared in recent weeks that it is determined to ensure that the issue of climate change is high on its agenda when it assumes the presidency, so it is frankly astonishing that the same government is putting at risk the successful launch of the Emissions Trading Scheme, Europe's most important measures to reduce emissions of global warming gases.
The UK's national allocation plan was submitted by its government and approved by the Commission last July. Three months later, Britain was back with a revised plan that calls for bigger and more generous allowances, far larger than those demanded by any other government. It is threatening legal action if the plans are not approved. That seems an extraordinary demonstration of either incompetence or bad faith. It makes the fine words of the British Government sound very hollow.
Before the Commissioner finishes this debate, I should like him to tell the House just what the current situation is. As things stand, is the UK in the Emissions Trading Scheme or not? Do your legal offices, Commissioner, tell you that the UK has a real case, or does final approval of the Emissions Trading Scheme allocations rest with the Commission, as the directive says? Do the current position and the delays incurred present real problems for the success of the Emissions Trading Scheme in the long term?
I hope that the Commissioner will be able to respond to these points. I hope he understands that he will not be condemned by all UK representatives if he takes a very firm stand on this issue."@en1
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