G8 agree on bold target for carbon emission reduction

L'AQUILA, Italy - The world's richest nations agreed last night to cut their carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 in a dramatic attempt to secure a new global deal to combat climate change.

Leaders of the G8 group of countries also agreed to set a limit of 2C on global temperature rises, the first time they have imposed such a ceiling. In return, they urged developing countries including China and India to cut their emissions by 50 per cent over the same period.

President Barack Obama cleared the way for what Gordon Brown called an "historic agreement" at the G8 summit in Italy by signing the US up to a firm emissions target for the first time - a complete contrast to the intransigence of his predecessor, George Bush.

The G8 move is designed to revitalise United Nations-led talks on a global "son of Kyoto" agreement, which reach a climax in Copenhagen in December.

In talks in L'Aquila today, President Obama will try to persuade nine non-G8 nations, including China and India, to "jump together" with the G8 countries by agreeing to halve their emissions by 2050.

But an immediate breakthrough in today's 17-nation negotiations is unlikely.

China and India, however, rejected calls from G8 leaders for them to make deep cuts in their carbon emissions.

The developing nations want guarantees of subsidies from the rich nations to help them meet the cost of converting their industries to low-carbon technology.

They also want the G8 members to be more specific about their interim targets for reducing emissions by 2020.

Another potential stumbling block is the baseline on which the G8's emissions cuts will be calculated. Their declaration left this unclear, prompting critics to describe it as a fudge.

Britain backs a 1990 start date but the US favours a later one - meaning it would have to make a smaller reduction. However, officials hope the G8's gesture will draw developing nations into serious and ultimately successful negotiations by December.

One said: "There's a long way to go yet. But we now have a decent chance of getting there."

Mr Brown said: "For the first time the G8 has agreed [on] what I believe are vital decisions that take us on the road to Copenhagen and change the way we look at energy policy in the future. We have agreed that average global temperatures must rise by no more than 2C. That is an historic agreement. We have agreed as the G8 that we want to cut our emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 and we believe that this will allow the world to reduce its emissions by 50 per cent."

The Prime Minister has proposed a US$100 billion ($159 billion) global fund to ease the path to a deal by helping developing countries become more energy efficient. There was no agreement on that last night, while some non-G8 members want a bigger fund.

Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission President, said: "We are not where we would like to be but I think things are [moving] in the right direction for Copenhagen."

But the breakthrough failed to satisfy green groups. While welcoming the G8's move, they criticised the group for failing to produce targets for 2020.

Antonio Hill, a spokesman for the charity Oxfam, said: "The G8 might have agreed to avoid cooking the planet by more than 2C, but they made no attempt to turn down the heat any time soon. 2050 is too far off to matter - poor people are being hit today. We must see emissions cuts of at least 40 per cent by 2020 and G8 money to help the poorest countries cope with climate chaos."

- INDEPENDENT