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Carcinogens

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total amount of recognised carcinogens released to the air was in (a) England and (b) each government region in each year since 1997. [143759]

Mr. Bradshaw: The National Atmospheric Emission Inventory (available on line http://www.naei.org.uk/) compiles annual air pollutant emissions for the United Kingdom. The most recent year for which emissions have been calculated is 2001. Emissions of four known or probable human carcinogens are calculated: benzene, 1,3-butadiene, benzo[a]pyrene and dioxins. Table 1 shows the national annual emissions since 1997 taken from the National Atmospheric Emission Inventory.

Emissions are generally calculated using statistics that are available on a national scale (e.g. fuel use). Inventory experts are gathering the regional information in order to undertake the complex process of calculating regional

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totals. So far, emissions for England have been calculated for 1997 to 2001 (Table 2), but emissions for each Government region are not yet available.

Table 1 UK emissions 1997–2001

	Units	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Benzene	kt	35.8	31.7	28.7	15.7	15.4
1,3-Butadiene	kt	7.3	6.4	5.9	5.1	4.5
BaP	tgTE	11.2	9.7	8.6	6.7	7.2
Dioxins	Q	471	411	395	346	341

Table 2 England emissions for 1997–2001

	Units	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Benzene	Kt	27.4	24.3	22.0	12.0	11.8
1,3-Butadiene	kt	6.0	5.3	4.8	4.2	3.7
BaP	t	9.4	8.2	7.3	5.6	6.1
Dioxins	gTEQ	376	328	315	276	272

Notes:

(a) BaP = benzo[a]pyrene (a carcinogen in its own right and a marker for carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air);

(b) The term dioxin refers to a range of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and polychlorinated dibenzofuran compounds. The emissions of dioxins are presented in terms of the sum of the weighted emissions expressed as gTEQs. TEQs weight the toxicity of the less toxic congeners as fractions of the toxicity of 2,3,7,8-TCDD, the most toxic congener.

Bovine TB

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect of the reactive cull component of the Government's randomised badger culling trials on the incidence of TB in dairy cattle. [144403]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB carried out an interim analysis of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial data collected up to the end of August 2003. The analysis indicated that there is an increased risk of TB breakdowns occurring in trial areas where reactive culling has taken place, compared to the related control (survey-only) areas. The increase is estimated at 27 per cent.

This conclusion is statistically valid and has been reached after taking into account factors other than culling (e.g. history of breakdowns in the area, number of herds, herd size etc.) which may have an impact on the number of breakdowns in a particular area. This outcome is consistent across nine of the 10 triplets; there has not been any reactive culling in the 10th reactive trial area.

On the basis of these findings, ministers have decided to suspend culling in reactive trial areas, because the evidence suggests that such culling leads to more cases of TB in cattle.

Climate Change

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the outcome of the recent climate change meeting in Milan. [145136]

Mr. Morley: The Ninth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP9) took place between 1–12 December in Milan,

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Italy. The Secretary of State and I represented the UK during the ministerial segment on 10–12 December. Agreement was reached on a range of important and forward looking items on the COP agenda, including the following: rules for inclusion of forestry projects (sinks) in the Clean Development Mechanism; the guidelines for operationalising two of the three funds for developing countries agreed at COP7 in Marrakech (the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Special Climate Change Fund); the level of the Convention budget for the biennium 2004–05 including provision for activities to implement the Kyoto Protocol once it comes into effect; two new agenda items, building on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Third Assessment Report, examining the scientific, technical and socio-economic aspects of mitigation and adaptation; and the scope of further methodological work required in the next few years to advance the work of the Convention. This means that all the key decisions have now been taken to enable implementation of the Kyoto Protocol.

During the three ministerial round table discussions, many countries underlined the importance of the Kyoto Protocol and looked forward to its entry into force. The view was also widely expressed that further action to tackle climate change is urgently required. Some speakers focussed on the need for further action on the impacts of, and vulnerability and adaptation to, climate change, and on the transfer of low carbon technology to developing countries, while others argued strongly for deeper cuts in emissions from developed countries and the important role of existing and new technologies to achieve them.

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the outcome of the COP9 conference of parties to the United Nations framework convention on climate change held in Milan this month; if she will place in the Library copies of all papers (a) submitted by the United Kingdom and (b) submitted by other parties which include information relevant to the United Kingdom; and if she will publish details of website addresses which give information on the conference. [144509]

Mr. Morley: The Ninth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP9) took place between 1–12 December in Milan, Italy. The Secretary of State and I represented the UK during the ministerial segment on 10–12 December. Agreement was reached on a range of important and forward looking items on the COP agenda, including the following: rules for inclusion of forestry projects (sinks) in the Clean Development Mechanism; the guidelines for operationalising two of the three funds for developing countries agreed at COP7 in Marrakech (the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Special Climate Change Fund); the level of the Convention budget for the biennium 2004–05 including provision for activities to implement the Kyoto Protocol once it comes into effect; two new agenda items, building on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Third Assessment Report, examining the scientific, technical and socio-economic aspects of mitigation and adaptation; and the scope of further methodological work required in the next few years to advance the work

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of the Convention. This means that all the key decisions have now been taken to enable implementation of the Kyoto Protocol.

During the three ministerial round table discussions, many countries underlined the importance of the Kyoto Protocol and looked forward to its entry into force. The view was also widely expressed that further action to tackle climate change is urgently required. Some speakers focussed on the need for further action on the impacts of, and vulnerability and adaptation to, climate change, and on the transfer of low carbon technology to developing countries, while others argued strongly for deeper cuts in emissions from developed countries and the important role of existing and new technologies to achieve them.

In the international climate change negotiations, the UK negotiates as part of the European Union. I have therefore placed copies of all EU statements, which incorporate the UK's views and reflect the EU consensus, in the Libraries of both Houses. The UNFCCC website (http://unfccc.int/) gives complete information on the Conference and copies of all papers.

Crop Areas

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the cost to farmers arising from the over-estimation of the wheat area for this year's harvest. [143590]

Mr. Bradshaw: Defra figures are only one of a number of sources of information available to the market and individual buyers and sellers have to use their own commercial judgment. Although there was an initial increase of approximately £5 per tonne immediately following publication of corrected figures, this had reduced by about half within a few days with the price back on trend. This reflects the UK's position as a price taker rather than a price maker in an international commodity market. UK production is about only 13 per cent. of EU production, and EU production is just over 20 per cent. of world production. On average, however, wheat prices this year are now some £50 per tonne higher than at the same period last year. They have risen steadily throughout the marketing season in response to serious reductions in supply elsewhere in Europe as a result of heat and drought in the summer. This has also coincided with a tighter global market which has seen world wheat prices at their highest levels in recent years. There was no discernable effect on prices when the provisional agricultural census results were published in the middle of September.

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