Joint Parliamentary Meeting on Climate Change : Rising to the Challenge

The Joint Parliamentary Meeting on Climate Change : Rising to the Challenge, organised by the European Parliament and the Portuguese Assembleia da República, took place in the European Parliament in Brussels the 1 and 2 October 2007. This Joint Parliamentary Meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament, and Mr. Jaime Gama, President of the Portuguese Assembleia da República.

More than 200 Members of the European Parliament and of the National Parliaments of the European Union and the Candidate countries took part in this Joint Parliamentary Meeting that began on Monday 1 of October at 3 p.m. with the Opening session by both Presidents followed by the interventions of Mr. Guido Sacconi, Chairman of the EP Temporary Committee on Climate Change and Mr. Antonio Ramos Preto, Chairman of the Portuguese Parliament Committee on Local Government, Environment and Territory Organization. Mr. Stefan Rahmstorf, Professor of Physics of the Oceans at the Potsdam University was the Key Note Speaker and European Commissioner Mr. Stavros Dimas the Guest Speaker of this first session.

The Joint Parliamentary Meeting was organised around three working groups on the following topics: Working group 1 "Adapting to Climate Change - National Concepts"; Working group 2 "Renewable energies - European and national strategies, best practices" and Working group 3 "Reduction of emissions - building sector, modernisation of public and private housing".

On the Tuesday session from 9 a.m. there was the presentation of the working group reports followed by statements of Mr. Francisco Nunes Correia, Minister for Environment, Territory Organization and Regional Deveolopment on behalf of the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council, and of Mr. José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, and a general debate. Mr. Karl-Heinz Florenz on behalf of the EP Temporary Committee on Climate Change and Mr. Pavel Gantar, Vice-chairman of the Committee on Environment and Territorial Planning of the Slovenian National Assembly intervene also.

European Parliament Press release

European Parliament Press release (2)