Without strong political commitment, fight against climate change can never be won – Brincat

Brincat said this while addressing the plenary meeting of the International Parliamentary Commonwealth Conference with the theme “The Challenges of Climate Change” in London.

After complaining that greenhouse gas emissions had increased by around 41% since 1990, Brincat explained that even if an agreement had been reached – which surely was not the case in Copenhagen last December – this nonetheless would not have meant that this would have led to reduction in emissions.

He also complained that until an international treaty about climate was inserted in national legislations and implemented, a number of years would have passed.

In Copenhagen, insisted Brincat, instead of agreement on targets that should be reached, there were only conclusions of secret negotiations between the leaders of a few major countries and without a discussion during the summit’s plenary session.

Hence, instead of combating climate change effectively, these countries managed to create a climate of distrust between UN Member States, he charged.

Leo Brincat insisted that in Copenhagen, the gap with countries with completely different social and economic interests continued increasing rather than decreasing.

“The repercussions of the global financial crisis dampened the will of industrialised nations to be generous with those who were less fortunate countries,” Brincat insisted.

The Labour MP warned that despite the fact that there were some people who were still hoping in the outcome of the climate change conference that will be held in Mexico and South Africa in the future, there were serious doubts, among other things, whether there was enough strong political will-power to lead a long-lasting agreement.

“For the changes needed to really take place there is the need for a strong and credible leadership and better communication, together with a higher sense of social justice between all the parties concerned,” Brincat concluded.