Malta's Ambassador on Climate Change, Michael Zammit Cutajar, has received Hungary's Knight's Cross Order of Merit (Civil Division) in recognition of his contribution to international negotiations on climate change.

The investiture was made in Budapest on Monday during a ceremony held in the Parliament Building at the invitation of the Speaker of the Parliament, Dr. Katalin Szili.

Later, Mr Zammit Cutajar delivered a lecture entitled "Climate Change at 21", in which he reviewed the evolution of international consideration of the issue since Malta placed it on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly in 1988.

State Secretary Tibor Faragó, who has been the lead negotiator on climate change for Hungary since then, moderated the ensuing interchange with the invited audience, which included the Chairman of the Environment Committee of the Parliament, Dr. Andor Nagy, and former Environment Minister Dr. Miklós Persányi.

Before being appointed ambassador, Mr. Zammit Cutajar devoted most of his career to work in and around the United Nations on matters related to development and environment. In 1991, he was assigned to set up and head the secretariat supporting the negotiations that led to the adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992) and later the Kyoto Protocol (1997). He held this post (Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC) until retiring in 2002, latterly with the rank of Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations.

In his current function, Mr. Zammit Cutajar chairs a negotiating group tasked with fashioning an international agreement to be adopted at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December this year. That conference, which may be attended by Heads of State and Government, is expected to launch a new phase in international cooperation and commitment in confronting the challenge of climate change.