"Through the G8 process, I want to develop a package of practical measures, largely focused on technology, to cut [greenhouse gas] emissions," UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on 26 January.
"Political leaders worry they are being asked to take unacceptable falls in economic growth and living standards to tackle climate change."
But in Tony Blair's view, "that need not be the case". Aligning himself with EU climate change policies, he said greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced "without damaging our economy" and referred to the EU emissions trading scheme as "a powerful driver to more sustainable means of energy generation, industrial production and business activity".
"We need to work much harder to find ways to implement the vast range of low-carbon technologies that have already been developed. Energy efficiency. Renewable energy sources. Cleaner fossil fuels. Avoiding waste. All of this can be done, and often at a much lower costs than we realise."
Acknowledging the "difficulties in moving this agenda forward", Blair said he would seek "a new global consensus" with the "hard-headed" US and emerging economies such as China.
On Africa, Blair proposed a "doubling of aid" to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals. However, he said, the western world needed to "be frank about issues of trade: we must open our markets, cut our subsidies, including on controversial items such as cotton and sugar".
