27 September 2005 - Tony Blair has undermined global co-operation on tackling climate change by calling for dialogue between nations to replace international treaties – and arguing for a solution based on new technology delivered by the private sector.

His comments, made at a New York meeting organized by Bill Clinton earlier this month, represent a complete U-turn from earlier speeches, in which the Prime Minister pledged support for the Kyoto Protocol – the only international treaty which imposes binding cuts in greenhouse gas emissions on signatories.

Caroline Lucas, Green Party MEP for South-East England, warned that the U-turn threatens future global co-operation to tackle the problem.

She said: “Only a few weeks ago Tony Blair was pledging commitment to the Kyoto protocol process and claiming the right to exercise global leadership on developing a successor agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol.

“But one short trip to the US later and he’s abandoned all that in favour of the Bush approach: ditch all binding agreements and leave it up to private sector to provide a techno-fix. The trouble is – this just won’t work.

“Climate change is not a long-distant problem: it’s never been more urgent, as an increasing number of indicators suggest we have already reached a point of no return and freak weather events – thought to be increasing in frequency due to slight rises in sea temperatures – are causing death and destruction on an almost unprecedented scale in the US and elsewhere.”

The Green Party MEP added: “If we are to try and tackle climate change before it’s too late we must adopt internationally agreed targets for greenhouse gas emissions. New technology may help us achieve these targets but should never replace them.

“If Tony Blair hopes to exercise any global leadership on tackling climate change, he must re-affirm his commitment to the Kyoto process and take the lead in negotiating a follow-up treaty with tougher targets. At the moment he is doing precisely the opposite, and we will all pay the price for his failure.”

ENDS