Queen to open climate change summit

Wednesday, 3 November 2004 12:00 AM

The Queen will today open a major conference on climate change in Berlin, in what is seen as a declaration of personal intent.

Her Royal Majesty has been seeking to make the Royal palaces more environmentally friendly and has endorsed plans for a hydroelectric plant to power Windsor Castle.

According to some reports, she has also privately pressed the Prime Minister to make greater progress on international efforts to tackle climate change. By convention though, neither Buckingham Palace nor Downing Street comment on personal discussions between the Prime Minister and the Queen.

The UN-backed conference in Berlin will focus on international efforts to combat climate change, and will be chaired by Germany's former environment minister Klaus Topfer.

Tony Blair, who will address the conference by video link, has previously spoken of his intention to make climate change a top priority for his presidency of both the EU and the G8 next year.

On the first day of her first state visit to Germany since 1992, the Queen attended a state banquet in Berlin. In her address, the Queen said that Britain and Germany should build a lasting friendship after the suffering and loss of the Second World War.

The Queen said: "In remembering the appalling suffering of war on both sides, we recognise how precious is the peace we have built in Europe since 1945.

"And one of the bedrocks of that peace has been the partnership between our two countries within NATO and the European Union which grew so successfully out of the need to address together the challenges of the post war world.

"We owe it to those who built that partnership to continue the process into the 21st century: to learn from history not to be obsessed by it; to look beyond simplistic stereotypes to realise how often we share the same outlook; above all to recognise the way in which that vital partnership of the post-war years has evolved - and continues to evolve - into a mature and enduring friendship for the 21st century."

Specifically addressing the problems of climate change, she said: "At a global level one new and urgent challenge we face together is climate change. Tomorrow I shall be present at the opening of the German-British conference on this subject at the British Embassy. I am pleased that Britain and Germany are leaders in Europe on this issue. The presentation I saw by young British and German students today underscored how important this issue is to the next generation."

Her three-day visit will also include a concert at the Berlin Philharmonic on Wednesday to raise money for the restoration of Dresden's Frauenkirche church, destroyed during Allied bombing in 1945. She is also expected to hold talks with German president Horst Koehler and chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

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