Off-target?

Environmentalists see the G8 Summit’s pledge to fight climate change by cutting carbon emissions by at least 50% by 2050 as ‘meaningless’ without any targets. Without any numerical or medium term targets for 2020, environmental campaigners see this declaration as lacking concrete and serious commitment on behalf of the Group of Eight leaders. Greenpeace described the meeting as a “real diversion from real action on climate change”.

The G8 nations - The United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Japan and Russia – ended their three day summit yesterday, in the Japanese resort of Lake Toya, Japan. Besides the usual protests that normally arise at meetings that bring together the richest nations of the world, several problems arose along the way.

First, despite the fact that the Japanese Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda, hoped that this year’s Summit main agenda and focus would be an environmental one, two pressing global issues were difficult to ignore. The worrying rising price of fuel and rising cost of food have become key issues on all countries’ agendas.

The other main challenge of the Summit was reaching a consensus on what each country should be doing to help minimize the effect of climate change. Whose responsibility is it - everyone’s or just developed countries? The Americans want to see carbon emission reductions from developing countries such as China and India first, before signing up for any drastic cuts. While the Europeans, on the other hand, believe that developed nations need to be the first to commit to signing specific reduction targets.

It is clear then that the outcome the G8 Summit in Japan differs depending on who you are speaking with. The White House’s statement yesterday which applauded this year’s Summit for having achieved a major step forward for the environment is a far cry from environmental groups’ reaction. The biggest divide remains between developed and developing countries, who are still struggling to agree on a uniform target and objective date. Developing countries took part in a meeting of 16 major economies held on the fringes of the G8’s three-day summit in Hokkaido, which revealed that not all countries are ready to sign on to the 2050 goal, including China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa.

I believe that developed countries need to set a precedent and lead the way in environmental action as they have the resources and technology at their disposal. The Kyoto Protocol will start to expire in 2012, and I hope that the momentum with be there in December 2009 when a new climate change accord is set to be written in Copenhagen, Denmark. Leadership is desperately needed and I think that the G8 should demonstrate how climate change can be tackled.