TOYAKO, Japan (Reuters) - The Group of Eight leaders are likely to refer to a “shared vision” to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in a statement to be issued later on Tuesday, a source briefed on negotiators’ talks said.
The source, speaking to Reuters before the leaders met to discuss a final document, also said that the G8 would probably urge big emerging economies to share that same vision.
If confirmed, the careful and vague wording of the climate statement – always the most contentious part of summit negotiations – was unlikely to satisfy those seeking much more specific targets.
Last year, the G8 club of rich nations – Japan, Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Russia and the United States – agreed merely to “seriously consider” a goal of halving global emissions by mid-century.
The European Union and Japan have been pressing for this year’s statement to go beyond that, and Brussels wants clear interim targets as well.
But U.S. President George W. Bush has insisted that Washington cannot agree to binding targets unless big polluters such as China and India rein in their emissions as well.
“I think basically they are trying to paper over fundamental differences among the G8 over their approach,” said Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“As long as the U.S. and the Europeans are fundamentally at odds, you’ve got gridlock.”
The G8 leaders were likely to hail the statement as progress, however, and earlier on Tuesday European officials sounded positive about the outcome.
“The European Commission is confident and optimistic about the outcome and that this will mean an important step compared with Heiligendamm,” an EU source told Reuters, referring to last year’s summit in Germany.
“You know what the (European Commission) president’s idea of success was and when he was briefed this morning there was a smile on his face.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday after a morning meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush that she was “very satisfied” with the G8’s work on the issues of climate change as well as on soaring food and oil prices, also high on the agenda.
Bush did not mention those issues in his brief comments after the bilateral talks.
The statement on climate change was also expected to highlight agreements to develop new technologies and provide funds to help poor countries limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Activists have been wary of prospects for real progress until a new U.S. president takes office next year.
G8 to agree on “shared vision” for climate: source - Yahoo! News
Is enough being done? Will the biggest contributors of pollution do enough to curb the rapid rate of Global Warming?
It’s in everyone’s interest to curb Global Warming, and utilize alternative resources that reduce greenhouse gases. Europe along with Japan have taken the lead, for most part. Hopefully others will follow. I hope the benchmarks are met, if not exceeded.