International experts will gather in Dublin today to discuss ways of improving the battle against threats to the environment from greenhouse gases.
The workshop will see leading experts on emissions trading, monitoring and compliance focus on new schemes to achieve greater co-operation.
It is hoped the conference will devise ways to make trading markets more effective in easing problems such as climate change, acid rain, and ozone transport.
Experts will address minimum levels of compliance; obligations of regulators and market participants and best practices for monitoring, reporting and verification.
The meeting, organised with the help of the Environmental Protection Agency, comes as Taoiseach Bertie Ahern joined other leaders at a two-day European Council spring summit in Brussels.
The main focus of the summit, attended by EU leaders, is the economic and environmental performance of the EU. One topic considered is cutting carbon emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 — but it is likely to face major opposition.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been chairing the meeting and has rejected concerns from business about the cost of such a dramatic shift.