CPA UK mentions in Parliament
Please find below a selection of parliamentary mentions of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Assoication.
Questions to the Prime Minister following a CPA UK delegation to the Pacific Islands
Meg Munn (Sheffield, Heeley) (Lab/Co-op): Pacific island states are already suffering significant effects from global warming. They have produced national adaptation plans, but do not have the money to implement them. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that money is available from the EU funds for this adaptation now, as without it the implications of global warming will only continue to get worse for those islands?
The Prime Minister: I know from my hon. Friend's work that she knows very well the challenges that are faced by the island states. She also knows some of the countries that were present at the Commonwealth conference because she has very strong links with them. I know perfectly well that countries from the Maldives to Bangladesh look to the climate change conference in Copenhagen to give answers to the problems they face as a result of immediate and urgent requirements owing to climate change. The purpose of the European contribution—$3.5 billion a year in 2010, 2011 and 2012—is to contribute to a worldwide fund of something in the order of $10 billion a year, principally for the expenditure on adaptation that she wishes to see. There is a proposal that the island states that have suffered most of all will get a proportion of that fund to enable them to take action immediately. We know very well that some of the problems they face are urgent and have to be addressed not just in the next few years but in the next few months.
Mrs. Betty Williams (Conwy) (Lab): I welcome my right hon. Friend's answer earlier about the plight of the south Pacific islands. We visited five of those islands—Fiji, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Tonga and Kiribati—during the summer recess as part of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. The Speaker of Tuvalu said to me, as I left for the plane, "Thank you so much for coming and for thinking about us. Please do not forget us." That is the message that I would like to give to my right hon. Friend as he goes to Copenhagen.
The Prime Minister: My hon. Friend has taken a long-term interest in the problems faced by those island states, where we could be dealing with climate-change refugees and evacuees in the not too distant future. Copenhagen is important, because it can allow us to make a commitment to help immediately those island states that are facing these immense difficulties, and help them to obtain support to deal with the adaptation necessary. We will not forget the challenges faced by these islands. Many of them are part of the Commonwealth and it is important that we come to their aid when they are in need.
Please view the questions in full from Hansard.
Debate in the House of Lords, Thursday 10 December:
On Thursday 10 December a debate in the House of Lords on the Commonwealth: Democracy and Development was moved by Lord Sheikh. Baroness Kinnock, FCO Minister with responsibility for the Commonwealth took part and updated the House on CHOGM and the importance of reaching a deal in Copenhagen. A full transcript of the debate is available on Hansard.
Christmas Adjournment Debate, Wednesday 16 December:
On Wednesday 16 December 2009, Meg Munn MP gave a speech in the Christmas Adjournment Debate on climate change and the Pacific. A full transcript of the debate is available on Hansard.
