Kyoto Protocol - One Year On

That the Parliament notes that Thursday 16 February 2006 is the first anniversary of the coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol, part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; welcomes the progress that has been made by some countries in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions but regrets that other countries are failing to meet their targets while other countries have yet to ratify the protocol; believes that, while the Kyoto Protocol is a useful first step towards genuine international co-operation on climate change, it cannot in itself deliver the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that are required to tackle the most pressing issue facing humanity; urges all countries, whether bound by the terms of the protocol or not, to take responsibility for their greenhouse gas emissions and associated environmental consequences by taking immediate steps towards building an international consensus on effective, equitable and legally binding actions needed to prevent runaway climate change, and calls on the Scottish Executive to introduce binding targets for Scottish greenhouse gas emissions forthwith.