Hon David Parker
Minister Responsible for Climate Change Issues

6 December 2005
Media statement

Parker to attend climate change summit in Montreal

New Zealand is supporting global efforts to continue work on long-term solutions for dealing with climate change, Minister Responsible for Climate Issues David Parker said today.

Mr Parker leaves today to represent New Zealand at the high-level segment of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Montreal.

"This will be an important meeting. The Kyoto Protocol, which came into force this year, is a major step forward but it is not enough. We need to start looking for a longer-term solution because Kyoto only covers 2008-2012 and does not include some major emitters. Work also needs to be done on how best to deal with the impacts of climate change."

Mr Parker said New Zealand was particularly aware of the threat faced by our neighbours in the small Pacific Island states. New Zealand contributes NZ$5 million a year to assist climate change-related activities in developing countries.

Another area Mr Parker wants to look at while in Montreal is other countries' work around the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). This initiative allows developed countries to offset their domestic emissions by funding low emission projects in developing countries.

"Montreal is the opportunity to consider what long-term measures are needed to deal with climate change. For New Zealand, it is essential that a post-2012 regime is effective, achievable and fair to all countries," Mr Parker said.

"This means that we need a process that brings together all major emitters, including developed and developing countries. It is only through a global agreement that we can hope to tackle such a major global problem."

ENDS

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