G8 : Bruxelles cherche à progresser sur le climat [en] 

Leaders of the G8 - Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Russia, the UK and the US - agreed at their last summit in June 2007 to "seriously consider" supporting a 50% reduction in global CO2 emissions by 2050 (EurActiv 08/07/07).

And Japan, which is hosting the summit under tight security on the island of Hokkaido, has said it will reduce its emissions by 60-80% compared with current levels by 2050, with a mid-term reduction target of 14% by 2020 based on 2005 levels (EurActiv 27/06/08).

"The G8 summit is a chance we must not miss," Commission President José Manuel Barroso said in a 4 July press statement. 

Barroso wants the world's leading polluters to agree to "meaningful and ambitious long-term goals and mid-term targets" for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in order to pave the way for a new global climate change deal by December 2009, when world leaders convene for a key UN-led climate summit in Copenhagen.

There are concerns the Hokkaido meeting will produce little in terms of concrete results or commitments, however.  

Views diverge sharply about who should shoulder the greatest responsibility for bringing emissions down in the coming decades. China, India and Brazil say they have a right to develop and that they are not responsible for climate change, pointing to more than a century of emissions by developed industrialised nations. And the US is unwilling to sign up to any global GHG reduction deal without a similar commitment from rapidly developing states. 

It is widely accepted that any global climate change deal is meaningless without a sound agreement between the US and leading emitters in the developing world.

Meanwhile the Commission hopes that the "European approach to climate action, with fair and balanced effort-sharing" can act as an example. The EU is currently finalising its climate and energy package, which includes a tighter carbon market for major industries and differentiated CO2 reduction targets for the remaining sectors of the economy (EurActiv LinksDossier). 

Busy agenda

Barroso will be pushing for greater consensus on 7 July, when delegates from China, India and Brazil meet with their G8 counterparts to discuss the issue.

But the meeting offers precious little time for smoothing out differences, as climate change will not be the only topic of discussion at the summit, and there is speculations that other concerns, such as the global food crisis, could eclipse any serious discussions on climate change. 

Fears of rising inflation are also expected to be on the minds of G8 leaders, as skyrocketing crude oil prices, which climbed well above $140 per barrel last week, put economic growth under increasing strain. 

And a backsliding of promised G8 aid for Africa, which has been particularly hard hit by higher food prices, is set to overshadow the talks. The global charity Oxfam International today reported that a number of G8 countries were attempting to use the summit to reduce previous African aid commitments.

The EU, however, intends to commit signficant funds obtained through unspent agricultural subsidies - a result of higher food commodity prices - to a global fund for farmers in the developing world. While details of the plans are to be announced tomorrow (8 July), Barroso has already indicated that the figure will be around €1 billion.