Marko Sirac of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) said that by ratifying the Kyoto Protocol Croatia was not only meeting one of the criteria for membership of the EU, but was also reducing harmful impacts on the environment and dependence on the import of energy products which are becoming increasingly expensive, and creating new possibilities for development and employment and better environmental protection.
Alenka Kosisa Cicin-Sain of the People's Party (HNS) said that the seven-year-long negotiations about the Kyoto Protocol were too long and that the topic of environmental protection was being ignored in Croatia.
She also criticised Croatia's lagging behind in the development of renewable energy sources, particularly in light of the fact that the country depended on the import of energy products whose overall quantity was decreasing and which were growing more and more expensive.
Bozidar Pankretic of the Peasant Party (HSS) expressed concern about the insufficient production of bio-diesel in Croatia.
Social Democrat Ivica Pancic said that the Kyoto Protocol should encourage more concrete measures for the protection of the environment as well as the development of more modern industrial technologies based on renewable energy sources, and force energy lobbies to accept European and global standards for climate protection.
Tonci Tadic of the Party of Rights (HSP) wanted to know if the government would present a strategy to implement provisions of the Kyoto Protocol.
He supported changes in the transportation system to save energy and called for using means of transport that use less energy and emit less greenhouse gases, such as trains and ships.