HM Queen Elizabeth enters Climate Diplomacy

5:54am (UK)
Blair Urged to Press U.S. on Climate Change

By John Deane, Chief Political Correspondent, PA News

Prime Minister Tony Blair will be urged today to push for action on
climate change in his first contact with the winner of the US
presidential election.

Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Norman Baker will underline that
message during a House of Commons debate on UK/US relations.

Mr Baker will say: “Tony Blair must now make it an urgent priority to
press for American action on climate change.

“His first telephone call … should start, ‘Congratulations on your
victory Mr President. Can I talk to you about climate change?’

“Today the Queen is raising the profile of the environment in a very
public manner and Mr Blair should take a leaf from the ‘Green Queen’ and
start engaging with the issues.”

Mr Baker was referring to the Queen’s presence today, during her state
visit to Germany, at a major conference at the British embassy in Berlin
which will make recommendations on climate change to the Government.

According to reports at the weekend, the Queen has already told Mr Blair
of her concern that America is lagging behind in combating global
warming.

Mr Baker continued: “We now know that climate change is the greatest
threat to our planet, but the last four years of the Bush administration
have completely ignored the situation.

“If we are to succeed in bringing the US into an international agreement
on climate change, Tony Blair and his international counterparts must
look beyond Kyoto (the Kyoto Treaty on climate change) to a fairer
system of contraction and convergence.

“By allowing every country its fair share of carbon use, this system
puts paid to American excuses for not signing up.”

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3709045