Speaker Bercow to host first international parliamentary climate change debate

9 July 2010

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK (CPA UK) is delighted to announce that as part of its international parliamentary conference From Global to Local: Climate Change Post-Copenhagen (12-16 July) Speaker John Bercow MP will chair its first international parliamentary climate change debate in London on 13 July.

The debate will be attended by over 100 parliamentarians from more than 30 countries including MPs from the island nations of Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Maldives, who will suffer the immediate and devastating consequences of climate change if sea levels continue to rise.

Over the four-day conference delegates will debate and discuss extensively with UK parliamentarians and environmental policy experts how best to combat climate change through their legislatures in the absence of a binding international agreement.

In addition to the parliamentary debate, other discussion sessions feature speakers including:
•Rt Hon. Henry Bellingham MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
•Professor Lord Rees of Ludlow OM FRS, President, the Royal Society
•Dr Rachmat Witoelar, Special Envoy for Climate Change, Indonesia
•Mr James Smith, Chairman, Shell UK.

Delegates will also visit a number of UK eco-projects, including the Thames Barrier and the Greenwich Millennium Village, to gain a practical perspective of projects that can mitigate climate change.

Speaker John Bercow MP and Lord Speaker Baroness Hayman together emphasised the importance of the event: "We espouse the conference aim of supporting parliamentarians to influence the formulation and implementation of climate change policy at local, national and international levels. Climate Change is a global challenge which can be addressed most effectively with continuous and coordinated effort."

By the end of the conference participants will have produced both a conference communiqué and a Climate Change Toolkit, which will include key advice for parliamentarians on addressing this crucial global issue at both a local, national and global level.

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