Cut greenhouse gas, Blair told

2005-02-01 13:51

London - The British government should set an example for the rest of the world by cutting greenhouse gas emissions, an environmental group said Tuesday at the start of an international conference in Britain on climate change.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has promised to put climate change on the international agenda this year as Britain chairs the Group of Eight industrialised nations and holds presidency of the European Union. The international climate change conference being held in Exeter, southwest England, is part of that plan.

Friends of the Earth said on Tuesday that carbon dioxide levels had not fallen in Britain since Blair's Labour party came to power in 1997, and unless the UK made sustained and significant cuts in its own emissions, the prime minister's credibility on the issue would be undermined.

"Major cuts in emissions cannot be delayed any longer," said Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper.

During the three-day conference, scientists from Europe, Asia, Africa and America will present papers on a range of issues, including melting Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, rising sea levels, the role of tropical forests and problems caused by rapid climate change.

Britain's environment secretary, Margaret Beckett, who will attend the conference, said while the event was not a forum for policy negotiation, she hoped it would provide an opportunity to explore options for avoiding high levels of greenhouse gases.

- SAPA