Ottawa, November 7, 2005 – The Honourable Stéphane
Dion will visit China from November 7-9, 2005, where he will hold a number
of meetings in preparation for Montréal 2005 - the United Nations
Climate Change Conference. The objectives of this trip are to secure
support for Canada’s approach at the upcoming 11th Conference of
the Parties (COP11) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change and the first Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.
The objective of the Montreal Conference will be, first and foremost,
to agree on key decisions to implement the Kyoto Protocol, which came
into effect in February 2005; to make improvements to some Kyoto mechanisms;
and to set an agenda for a future approach that is effective and inclusive",
Minister Dion said. “This trip provides a unique opportunity to
generate support for strong global action on climate change.”
While in China, Minister Dion will also address the Beijing International
Renewable Energy Conference on November 7, where he will discuss sustainable
development, international cooperation on renewable energy, technical
assistance and technology transfer, and the promotion of global renewable
energy as part of action on climate change and on other environmental
issues.
In preparation for Montréal 2005, Minister Dion will hold bilateral
meetings with members of the Chinese government as well as environment
and energy Ministers attending the Conference, including representatives
from the United Kingdom and the European Union.
While in China, the Minister will show his support for Canadian environmental
companies active in China by meeting with Canadian business people in
the context of the annual meeting of the Canada-China Business Council.
“As Host of the UN Climate Change Conference, we have been actively
consulting other countries to pave the way for effective discussions
in Montreal. More than 150 bilaterals with over 40 key countries have
taken place. The process has been helped by informal Ministerial Meetings
such as the Greenland Ministerial Dialogue in August as well as the Ottawa
Ministerial in September. The meetings in China continue Canada’s
effort to ensure that the UN Climate Change Conference achieve its objectives
in terms of the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, improvements to
the Protocol, and the launch of discussions on a more effective future
global approach on climate change.” Minister Dion indicated. The Montreal Conference will take place from November 28 to December
9, 2005..
For more information, please contact:
André Lamarre
Director of communications
Office of the Minister of the Environment
(819) 997-1441
Sébastien Bois
Media Relations
Environment Canada
(819) 953-4016
