Blair, Merkel meet on climate change

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his visiting German counterpart Angela Merkel met in London on Friday, agreeing to make efforts on tackling climate change.

At the joint news conference after talks, Merkel said Europe would need a strategy for climate change once the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, and it was vital for any new agreement to involve the United States, which did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The participation of the U.S. "is a very important issue for all of us," she said.

Blair said it was important to create the right framework for international agreement and there was a "real opportunity" to make progress next year when Germany takes over the European Union presidency.

"There's a real opportunity to make progress next year and certainly we will give every support we can. And I am hopeful that will be something that all countries can participate in." said Blair, who put climate change and poverty at the top of his agenda when Britain held the G-8 and EU presidencies last year.

He also said there was a "sense of hope" that the U.S. could be part of any new agreement.

"I think there are signs of hope here. There is a real reason for us to promote clean energy." said Blair.

Germany will continue to take forward work on climate change as G8 and EU priorities when Berlin takes over both presidencies in 2007, Merkel said.

It is reported that Merkel is set to reactivate the EU constitution, which was shelved after it was rejected by French and Dutch voters in the middle of 2005, during Germany's EU presidency in the first half of next year.

Blair has been wary of the draft EU document and his Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett recently declared that she would oppose any attempt to revive it in its present form.

Source: Xinhua