Leaders of eight industrialized nations meeting in Germany have
agreed to pursue "substantial" cuts in greenhouse gases, Chancellor
Angela Merkel said Thursday.
Group of Eight (G8) powers failed to overcome US resistance to
committing to specific numerical targets to curb global warming but
did refer to the goal of some countries of cutting emissions by 50
percent by 2050.
"In terms of targets, we agreed on clear language ... that
recognizes that (rises in) CO2 emissions must first be stopped and
then followed by substantial reductions," Merkel told reporters at
the G8 summit in the Baltic coast resort of Heiligendamm.
She hailed the decision as a "huge success," adding that it came
after many rounds of talks and negotiations.
The summit text confirmed that the eight nations would act to
stem the rise in global warming gases, followed by "substantial"
reductions, the most serious commitment to action on the issue by
the United States, the world's largest global warmer.
Washington had resisted attempts by Merkel to set a firm goal
for cuts needed to combat a warming of the earth's surface that
scientists say risks swelling sea levels and causing more droughts
and floods.
But she secured a partial victory by securing an inclusion of
the target in the text.
The European Union believes 50 percent cuts are needed to ensure
that global temperatures do not rise more than 2 C above
pre-industrial levels, a threshold it says will trigger "dangerous"
changes in the climate system.
Merkel is hosting three days of talks at a Baltic coast resort
with counterparts from Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Japan,
Russia and the United States.
Environmentalists condemned the G8's failure to agree on
specific, binding goals.
"Agreeing on a numerical target is a significant first step, and
not taking that first step is going to condemn us to a lot of pain
and suffering in terms of the impact of climate change," said Neil
Adger of Britain's Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.
G8 leaders are tackling other threats to global stability,
including increased tension between the United States and Russia
which some have said heralded the start of a new Cold War.
US President George W. Bush sought to calm tensions with Moscow
ahead of a highly anticipated face-to-face meeting with Russia's
Vladimir Putin at the summit.
"I repeat Russia's not a threat, they're not a military threat,
they're not something that we ought to be hyperventilating about,"
Bush said. "What we ought to be doing is figuring out ways to work
together."
At a morning session focused on economic issues, Merkel sat
between Bush and Putin, who have exchanged public barbs on US
missile shield plans in the run-up to the summit.
The two presidents, smiling and looking relaxed, have not met
face-to-face since before Putin launched a verbal attack on the
Bush administration in February, accusing it of trying to force its
will on the world and become its "single master".
Bush said he would reiterate to Putin his proposal to have
Russia send generals and scientists to the United States to
reassure them on his plans to put a radar system in the Czech
Republic and interceptor missiles in Poland.
(China Daily via agencies June 8, 2007)
