Climate Action Network

Panui from Den Haag

November 16 2000

New Zealand Government Receives FOSSIL OF THE DAY AWARD at Climate Change Conference in The Hague

New Zealand yesterday received the Wet Belly Fossil award in conjunction with Australia, Canada and the United States for wanting to remove references to existing international environment agreements from the eligibility rules for land use, land use change and forestry.

This would mean that land use activities under article 3 of the Kyoto Protocol would not be required to conform with the Conventions on Biological Diversity, Desertification, Wetlands, Forests and Agenda 21, as well as the ILO.

New Zealand has been identified by environmental organizations attending the Climate Change Conference at The Haag as one of three countries being the most obstructive to the climate change negotiations.

The Fossil of the Day award, presented by Climate Action Network, sits in a visual display case in the convention center and features a glass tank filled with murky water, to various levels, depending upon the award, of a puppet character wearing the flag of the country.

For further details see: http://www.fossil-of-the-day.org

Ends.

Ms D C WEBSTER dcwnz@yahoo.com Den Haag

PO Box 10804WELLINGTON
AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND