On climate change

What is the role of science in political negotiations on climate change?
The distinction you make between science and politics is not one I adhere to. Good political decisions are made on the basis of the best advice given to governments, on the basis of proper analysis, which has to rest on science, technology, economics and social sciences. I don’t like to draw distinctions. When I give my prime minister my advice I try to take into account all factors.

What if Russia doesn’t ratify the Kyoto Protocol?
I believe there is only one game in town and that is Kyoto. Therefore, it is of the greatest importance to us that Russia signs up to the agreement. Any talk at the moment of alternatives, to me, is not a good idea because it simply encourages other parties to think that there is another game in town. Actually there is only one. It’s a very carefully thought-through process. It would be counterproductive for the European Union (eu), in my view, to be engaged in discussions about alternatives.

Should countries consider the protocol’s entry into force without Russia?
I will give you the same political answer: we shouldn’t even discuss that. At the moment the priority has to be to persuade Russia to join us.

For how long?
There has to be a limit and I would not want to discuss what the time span would be. But the importance of the original notion of a fixed percentage of countries within the developed world joining Kyoto is a good one and I don’t think we should abandon it. Quite the contrary, I am now looking very hard on behalf of the British government from the eu to not only persuade Russia to come on board, but also the us.

Discussions with the US are still on?
Absolutely. There is only one game in town. In February I am going to lead a big delegation to the us to argue the case for Kyoto.

How agreeable are EU members on sharing the US $410 million it promised for developing countries at the Bonn climate change conference in 2001?
I couldn’t prejudge any announcements, but I think the principle is a very good one. I think that it’s incredibly important that the developing world begins to get engaged in discussions about post-2010. Technology transfer from the North to the South is absolutely key to success in that process. At the moment in India the average person is emitting one and a half tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum. In my country, its nine tonnes per annum, in America it’s 21 tonnes per annum. We can’t possibly preach to India that you should be reducing your emissions unless we are prepared to assist them.

On science and technology

What do you think of the flight of professional jobs to India?
Everybody has to worry about the local economy. At the same time we have to take a bigger view. The British government is very keen to see capacity building between the North and South. If we want the world to be a safer place to live in, then we have to have the developing world economy growing. So, I perso