Montréal Climate Change Conference 2005

From 28th November to 9th December 2005, Montréal, Canada hosts the first ever meeting of all the parties in the Kyoto Protocol.

This is a truly historic event. With 8,000 delegates and 1000 journalists expected, the conference is the largest intergovernmental climate gathering since 1997, when the Kyoto Protocol was adopted. In signing the Kyoto protocol, Britain and the other signatories committed themselves to an ongoing process to reduce climate change gas emissions. However the protocol expires in 2012, thus the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change organised this conference to look at actions to combat climate change beyond that date.

The Kyoto Protocol was finally ratified by 146 countries and came into effect on 16th February 2005. The Kyoto protocol legally bound nations who signed up to the treaty to reduce worldwide emissions of six greenhouse gases (collectively) by an average of 5.2% by an average of 5.2% below their 1990 levels by the period 2008-2012.

All the nations gathering will have their own views on the best way forward. The European Union, for example have confirmed the establishment of a China-EU partnership on climate change. In a statement The European commission stated "The two sides were determined to tackle the serious challenges of climate change through practical and results-oriented cooperation. This partnership will fully complement the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol". The European commission wants reluctant countries such as the US to be involved in the discussions on climate change "The Montreal meeting is just the start of dialogue".

Strategies include:

- Building on key Kyoto elements - binding greenhouse gas emission targets, a global cap-and-trade system.

- Undertaking strong emissions reductions at home, starting with 20-30% domestic reductions by 2020, using a combination of market incentives and regulation to stimulate investments in efficiency and/or carbon-free and low-carbon technologies.

- Adopting a pro-active approach to engage other main actors, notably the US.

- Developing a strategic partnership with countries like China, South Africa, Brazil and India to assist them in developing sustainable energy strategies and secure their participation in mitigation efforts.

- Vigorously promoting research and innovation for sustainable energy technologies and removing incentives such as fossil fuel subsidies, as well as internalising external costs, including those of climate change, into the price of energy production.

- Requiring the political system to take responsibility for facilitating measures to enable citizens to reduce their own impact on climate.

The Government of Canada are working to reduce the overall environmental impact of the conference by making it a Carbon Neutral Conference.

With the World media and governing bodies involving many Kyoto countries together in one location, delegates have the opportunity to enrich UN discussions with their views and specific experiences.

See the UNFCCC website for more information on the Montréal 2005 Climate Change Conference.

See the latest progress on Kyoto targets, as well as news and events at the UNFCCC website.

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