G-8 and Global Warming

[sfc_oliver]

And again we are to bear the brunt of the costs, as others refuse to go along.

"The summit host, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, has said a deal should be all-inclusive.

"It would not be productive if European countries, Japan, the United States and Canada accepted cuts that are economically damaging while more than five billion people in other countries carried on as before," he said."

[Towntalk]

The world's biggest developing nations, led by China and India, refused Wednesday to commit to specific goals for slashing heat-trapping gases by 2050, undercutting the drive to build a global consensus by the end of this year to reverse the threat of climate change.

The impasse over the 2050 targets demonstrated again the most vexing problem in reaching a consensus on climate change: the longstanding divisions between developed countries like the United States, Europe and Japan on one side, and developing nations like China, India, Brazil and Mexico on the other.

If Obama cannot ultimately bring along developing countries, no climate deal will be effective.

Any deal with developing nations became even more elusive after President Hu Jintao of China left for home to deal with unrest in the west of his country. Without agreement from the developing nations on specific targets, the Group of 8 nations watered down their commitment to the 2-degree benchmark


Declaration of the leaders of the major economies forum on energy and climate

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/09/climate-change-g8

Ban criticises G8 climate efforts

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8141715.stm#graph