Outcome G8 summit
G8 leaders didn't commit to limit mean temperature rises to 2° C
Even though the result of the G8 summit was welcomed by all the leaders, the final communiqué doesn't contain any of the EU's 3 original goals, i.e. there's no committment to limit the temperature rises to 2° C, to get binding emissions reductions or to move towards a global emissions trading system. The decision to "consider seriously" a halving of global emissions by 2050 is also weak since the G8 countries need to reduce their emissions by 80 to 90% by 2050 if the world is to avoid catastrophic climate change.
As our Greens/Efa Co-President, Monica Frassoni, said: "The comprise agreed on climate change does not contain any binding targets nor does it endorse the core aim of limiting rising world temperature to 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The formula that the G8 'would consider seriously to reduce CO2 emissions by 50% before 2050' is, in view of the challenges the world faces, ridiculous."
On a more positive note, the G8 gave a political mandate for the start of negotiations for the 2nd commitment period of the Kyoto protocol. These negotiations will begin with a meeting of environment ministers at the next U.N. climate change conference in Bali, Indonesia, in December. The goal is to reach a global agreement under the UNFCCC by 2009.
See the full Greens/EFA press release on the G8
