G8 CLASHES OVER CLIMATE CHANGE IN RUN-UP TO SUMMIT
Heads of state from the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations remained divided on climate change as they headed into the first day of a 6-8 June summit in Heiligendamm, Germany.
Recent weeks have seen the US spar with Germany and other EU member states about whether the G8 would agree to specific emissions reduction targets during the meeting. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been pushing a "two-degree" proposal, aimed at limiting global temperature increases to no more than two degrees Celsius. She proposed adopting a commitment to cut emissions to half of 1990 levels by 2050, which is what scientists say will be necessary to reach this goal.
The US has refused to go along with the German plan, which it considers overly strict. Washington has maintained that it would not agree to any plan that requires specific targets or timetables. However, in a high-profile announcement last week, the Bush administration released a new plan for climate change, calling for the world’s 15 biggest polluters including to get together, discuss the issue, and then establish their own goals - not necessarily binding - for long-term emissions reductions and technology-sharing. This provoked criticism from some G8 countries including Germany, which said that the move sought to bypass the UN and derail Merkel’s plan. However, the UK, Canada, and Japan welcomed what they viewed as a shift in the US’ position.
The extent to which developing nations like China and India should be required to reduce their carbon emissions - although they are major and growing polluters, their historical and per capita emissions remain far lower than those in the industrialised world - has been a major sticking point in climate negotiations. The US says that it will not be part of any emissions reduction plan that does not include these countries. Critics say it is using China and India as a pretext.
Beijing, for its part, this month released its first comprehensive report on climate change, in which it declared that conserving energy and managing emissions will now figure prominently in the country’s economic and energy policies. It did not, however, include specific targets, and emphasised that Chinese plans for emissions reductions could not take precedence over economic development.
The world’s governments are currently discussing the shape of a global emissions regime after 2012, when reduction commitments under the Kyoto Protocol expire.
ICTSD reporting; "Bush, Merkel Far Apart on Climate Change," ASSOCIATED PRESS, 6 June 2007; "China is shouldering its climate change burden," THE FINANCIAL TIMES, 3 June 2007; "Beijing refuses to commit itself to emissions reduction targets," THE FINANCIAL TIMES, 5 June 2007; "U.S. to oppose greenhouse gas cuts at G8: official," REUTERS, 6 June 2007; "China climate stance challenges UK," BBC NEWS, 4 June 2007.