Asia-Europe meeting in Helsinki highlights need for environmental cooperation

6.45.22pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 5th May 2006

ALDE leader Graham WATSON (Lib Dem, UK) participated in a panel discussion today in Helsinki, Finland, at the fourth Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership meeting together with Matti Vanhanen, Prime Minister of Finland. This year's conference, which gathers Members of the European Parliament, national parliamentarians from the EU Member States as well as representatives of parliaments from China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Republic of Korea and Vietnam, will pay a special focus to global environmental questions. In this context, Graham Watson will chair the plenary session on the economic implications of climate change.

"Global warming impacts Europe economically on many levels. Climate change will transform our agriculture, fisheries, forestry, human health as well the manufacturing and tourism industries. This is why we need to use global instruments, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol and the OECD as a political response.

"The European Union and Asia need joined up policies on the environment in which environmental protection goes hand in hand with synergies in other policy areas, such as economic growth, energy, agricultural, regional development and transport", he said. "With particular regard to this latter policy area, I call on the European Commission to confirm that it will not dilute its commitment to more environmentally sustainable forms of transport".

Graham Watson also reflected on the likely climatic effects on Asia, and China in particular: "China is the world's second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. However, neither China nor India are required to reduce their emissions under the Kyoto agreement. The EU must work closely with both of these countries in order to help ensure that they make speedy progress towards better energy use and reduction of pollution and understand that sustainable technologies can actually be a boost for economic development, not an obstacle".

"Nor should we forget the irresponsibility of the United States in ignoring the importance of the Kyoto Protocol and its own contribution to global warming", he added.