G-8 to ask India, China to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Tokyo, Jun 28 (PTI) Group of eight leaders will ask major
emerging economies like India and China to adopt actions to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions "in an indicative range below
business as usual," Japanese media reported on Sunday.

The G-8 leaders meeting from July 8-10 in L'Aquila,
Italy, will urge major emerging economies such as China and
India to adopt actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions "in
an indicative range below business as usual," where countries
employ few measures to cut emissions, by a specified year,
says the draft declaration, a copy of which was obtained by
Kyodo News.

The leaders from the eight industralised nations will
also agree to launch a public-private green technology fund
for developing nations as part of efforts to curb global
warming, according to the draft of declaration, it said.

"We reconfirm our strong commitment to the UNFCCC (U.N.
Framework Convention on Climate Change) negotiations and to
the successful conclusion of a global, wide-ranging and
ambitious post-2012 agreement in Copenhagen, involving all
countries, developed, emerging and developing, consistently
with the principle of common but differentiated
responsibilities and respective capabilities," the draft says.

The draft says the G-8 leaders will urge "all major
economies" to share the goal of halving emissions of carbon
dioxide and other heat-trapping gases by 2050, repeating
similar language to that used in the G-8 leaders' statement
issued at last year's summit in Hokkaido, Japan.

Similarly, the draft makes no reference to numerical
emissions reduction targets for developed countries for 2020,
a move that would spark criticism from developing countries
and environmentalists that rich countries are not doing enough
to lead global efforts to address climate change.

The draft also fails to spell out specifics on an
envisaged "Public-Private Technology Programme" to co-fund
investments in green technologies in developing countries,
such as the size of the programme, the timing of its launch
and its financial resources.

Emissions reduction targets for industrial countries for
2020 and mitigation actions by emerging economies are a major
focus of UN negotiations for a successor to the
carbon-capping Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. The
talks are scheduled to conclude at a key UN climate change
conference in Copenhagen in December.

"We will take the lead in accelerating the transition
towards green and sustainable growth, including the creation
of new jobs," the draft says. "The costs of inaction (to
cope with global warming) far outweigh the costs of moving
towards low-carbon societies."

Japan recently said it will slash emissions by 15 per
cent from 2005 levels by 2020, or an 8 per cent cut from 1990
levels, a target that environmentalists argue is not ambitious
enough to lead the fight against climate change.

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso says Japan's 2020
reduction target is deeper than those of the European Union
and the United States.

The 27-nation EU is aiming to slash emissions by 20 per
cent from 1990 levels, or 13 per cent from 2005 levels.
President Barack Obama has pledged to bring US emissions back
to 1990 levels by 2020, effectively meaning Washington will
rein in emissions by about 14 per cent from 2005 levels by
2020.

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning UN Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change recommends that developed countries as
a group reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40 per cent
from 1990 levels by 2020, or by more than 30 per cent from
2005 levels.

Along with climate change, the leaders of Britain,
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United
States are expected to focus on the world economy,
development, food security and regional issues of common
concern such as Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea at the
upcoming summit. PTI AKJ
SKT
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