THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - Frank H. Murkowski, United States Senator from Alaska and Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, offered the following commentary on today’s closing of the Sixth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-6). “I remain convinced that the risk of human-induced climate change is a risk we should address in a responsible manner. This months COP-6 meeting has shown that the issues involved in addressing the risk of climate change are complex and technical, and demonstrate the difficulty reaching consensus on these critical issues. “I believe a new approach to dealing with the risk of climate change is necessary one that adopts a longer-term, global perspective to emissions reductions and relies on investment in domestic and international clean energy technology research and development.” “The time is right to consider these issues in the context of a comprehensive national energy strategy for the coming decade a balanced approach which addresses energy supply, economic cost, and environmental concerns in a comprehensive and bipartisan fashion.” “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the U.S. Senate to put forth such a plan when Congress returns to work early next year.” ###