Friday, 5 December 2003 Media Statement

Hodgson to international climate change conference

Pete Hodgson, the Convenor of the Ministerial Group on Climate Change, departs New Zealand on Monday for an international climate change conference in Italy.

The conference in Milan is the ninth full meeting of the nations that are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the parent agreement of the Kyoto Protocol. It will refine the operational rules of the Protocol, which New Zealand ratified in December last year.

Mr Hodgson said he expected discussion at the ministerial segment of the conference about future greenhouse gas commitments beyond the end of the Protocol's first commitment period in 2012, including for developing countries.

Emissions reduction targets in the first commitment period apply to developed countries only, on the basis that they have historical responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions and more economic and technical capacity to mitigate climate change.

"This conference will also be an opportunity to talk further with my counterparts from the United States and Australia about our climate change partnership arrangements with those countries," Mr Hodgson said.

With Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton, Mr Hodgson will host a lunch for Milan business leaders to promote trade with New Zealand. He returns to Wellington on Monday 15 December.

For more information on the climate change conference visit its website: http://unfccc.int/cop9/

ENDS

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