G8 chatfest under way
July 7th 2008 00:38
Protestors welcome the G8 leaders to this year's meeting
Picture: Reuters
And here is the main news item being reported around the world three days from now: G8 leaders have just concluded a landmark meeting in Japan by signing a series of initiatives which are being hailed as a breakthrough in international willingness to confront climate change.
Unfortunately, the chances of that item leading the news on Wednesday evening are remote, despite climate change being high on the agenda.
The 34th summit of the Group of Eight industrialised nations (the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and Canada) takes place from July 7 to 9 in Toyako, Hokkaido, northern Japan. It will welcome three new chums in Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
It will farewell US President George W. Bush. One can only wonder what the leaders will write on the farewell card.
Last year's G8 summit in Germany agreed to "seriously consider" a global goal of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but wide differences amongst the G8, and even wider differences between advanced and developing countries, raise serious doubts about the chances of progress beyond last year's statement of intention.
An official with the French delegation said, "Will the effort to be announced by the G8 be convincing enough to get the emerging countries to say 'OK, we're ready now to come on board'? If we can get that in writing at Toyako, we'll have done our job," Well, that's hopeful, but the official does not appear to have announced any French determination to prod, herd and cajole the other seven into being "convincing enough".
Canadian Environment Minister John Baird said en route to Japan, "I don't think we're expecting a deal. That will come under the UN auspices in Copenhagen next year." No hope there.
Dubbya merely repeated his broken-record mantra that Washington will only set targets if big emerging economies are on board as well.
So will anyone take this splendid opportunity to be brave and bold and confront the environmental problems which are screaming to be confronted? Or will we, again, be fed hot air and cheap words?
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It's so relevant that anyone interested and finding themselves here should go to Louie's Climate Red blog here Louie's G8 post to read the follow-up.
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