The President of the United Nations General Assembly convened a high-level thematic debate on climate change on 11-12 February 2008, with the aim of building political momentum towards effective action in this crucial area. The Inter-Parliamentary Union, based on its own work in this field over the past year – particularly in follow-up to the 116th IPU Assembly in Bali - joined the discussion and highlighted its efforts to reinforce climate change policy and legislation with a view to achieving the ultimate objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol.
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National parliaments have reported back to the IPU on their own initiatives in implementing the Bali parliamentary declaration on climate change. The parliament of Chile, for example, has started to look at ways to make the national budget more environment-friendly. The German Bundestag Committee on the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety has recently debated several motions on proposed climate protection measures tabled by the parliamentary groups. The Bundestag also sets an example for climate protection and energy efficiency in the operation of its own buildings. In Israel, the Knesset Committee for Internal Affairs and the Environment is currently preparing the second and third readings of the Clean Air Bill.
A recent session of the Japanese Diet has seen the enactment of a law relating to the promotion of government contracts that pay due consideration to environmental concerns, assessing the environmental load of each project rather than simply looking at price competitiveness. In the UK, the parliamentary Joint Committee on the Draft Climate Change Bill, which aims to reduce the net UK carbon account by at least 60 per cent from the 1990 baseline by the year 2050, expressed its concerns recently about the legal enforceability of the targets and budgets, and proposed a system of annual milestones and a compliance mechanism to create a strong legal framework. In Belarus, the parliament is currently debating two bills designed to mitigate climate change, one to amend the environmental protection law on compensation for environmental damage, and the other concerning a draft code on earth resources. Many other examples can be quoted in this regard.
On 5 March, IPU was also invited to attend a parliamentary event hosted by the United States Congress, in the context of the Washington International Conference on Renewable Energy. Several legislators joined their national delegations to this important event, and shared views and experiences on good policies and practices to expand the use of clean and renewable energy solutions. Following a brief but productive exchange among legislators, it was agreed that there was scope for further work by the IPU and national parliaments in this important area.
