G8 agreement: only hot air
June 8th, 2007 by Jim JustThe leaders of the world’s richest nations have agreed that global green house gas emissions that are warming the planet must be cut substantially. The leaders, meeting at G-8 sessions in Germany, agreed that the increase in greenhouse gas emissions must be reversed. But note there was agreement only that something must be done, not an agreement to do something. The agreement reached Thursday does not include a mandatory 50 percent reduction in global emissions by 2050, a key provision sought by Chancellor Angela Merkel, nor does it commit the United States or Russia to specific reductions. After intense lobbying, and while continuing to insist that it will not accept any hard targets, the U.S. agreed to “seriously consider†the other developed countries’ target of 50% cuts by 2050. It also agreed that climate negotiations should continue under UN auspices (strange world where this is a concession). In exchange, the Euro leaders dropped their demands for hard targets, endorsed Bush’s toothless aspirational talks, and declared a “huge success.†All that was really accomplished today was a small PR Band-Aide, designed to keep the whole affair from ending in an embarrassing row. The editorial page of the Financial Times concluded: “Nobody expects much from this increasingly outmoded talking shop of the complacent rich.â€