22 August 2005
Environment minister Elliot Morley has come ‘face to face’ with evidence of how man-made climate change is affecting Greenland’s ice-cap.
He attended three days of informal Ministerial discussions with more than 20 countries - including the United States, Canada, China, Brazil and South Africa - on measures that need to be taken to combat global warming.
Following the meeting, which was hosted by the Danish government, Mr Morley and other ministers took a helicopter tour of the ice-cap.
Latest satellite data shows that Arctic Ocean ice shrunk to a record low for the month of June.
Defra-funded research recently found that man-made greenhouse gases are probably causing increasing river flows into the Arctic Ocean, which are already having a knock-on effect on rainfall patterns across the world.
Mr Morley said:
"Ministers have come face to face with the visible evidence of the scale and urgency of the climate change challenge.
"The UK has done much during the G8 Presidency to stimulate and open up international discussions on the future of climate change.
"I am particularly pleased that developing countries such as China have been present here, as well as the United States."
Countries who have signed up to the Kyoto Protocol - an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions world wide - will meet in Montreal in December for further talks.
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