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TOYAKO, Japan: Leaders of the world’s eight richest
top industrial powers vowed Wednesday to act to bring down soaring
oil and food prices but failed to bridge deep differences with poor
nations on how to fight climate change.
The Group of Eight wrapped up
three days of talks in a secluded mountain resort in Japan by
inviting leaders of growing emerging economies such as China and
India for a special session summit on global warming.
US President George W. Bush
hailed the summit as “very productive” as he left the scenic
venue. “I’m pleased to report that we’ve had significant
success,” he said.
But the final hours of the
meeting were overshadowed by Iran’s testing of its Shahab-3
missile that can reach Israel.
The White House denounced the
test and warned the Islamic republic to abandon its ballistic
missile program immediately.
“Iran’s development of
ballistic missiles is a violation of United Nations Security Council
resolutions and completely inconsistent with Iran’s obligations to
the world,” said White House Spokesman Gordon Johndroe.
The leaders of the G8 nations,
which together account for two-thirds of the world’s gross
domestic product, said in a joint statement that while global growth
had “moderated,” they were positive on the future.
They called for efforts to bring
down oil prices, which have jumped five-fold since 2003, as well as
the soaring cost of food which has set off riots in parts of the
developing world.
“There’s a need to improve
transparency on the oil market,” Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo
Fukuda told a news conference at the end of the summit with leaders
of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the
United States.
G8 leaders also called on all
countries to end export restrictions on food, Fukuda said.
The summit was dominated by
discussions on global warming amid growing concern that rising
temperatures caused by carbon emissions are threatening entire
species of plants and animals.
The rich nations’ club on
Tuesday agreed on the need for a global emissions cut of at least 50
percent by 2050, a step praised by G8 leaders as a step forward
after years of hesitation by Bush.
But developing countries slammed
the statement as too weak, tussling with rich nations at a special
expanded summit on Wednesday bringing together the G8 with eight
other leaders including Chinese President Hu Jintao and Indian Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh.
The deadlock between rich and
developing nations has held up talks on reaching a new climate
treaty by the end of 2009 in Copenhagen—a goal set in December at
a UN-backed conference in Bali.
“Climate change is one of the
great global challenges of our time,” the 16 leaders said in a
statement. “Our nations will continue to work constructively
together to promote the success of the Copenhagen climate change
conference.”
But their statement said only
that rich countries would implement their own goals for cutting
greenhouse emissions while developing major economies would also
take action, without proposing any numbers.
European Commission President
Jose Manuel Barroso defended the summit outcome.
“It is quite wrong to see this
in terms of a confrontation between developed and developing
countries,” he said. “Of course we accept the lion’s share of
responsibility but this is a global challenge which requires a
global response.”
Dan Price, assistant to Bush for
international economic affairs, praised the US-initiated meeting
Wednesday as useful.
“There was universal
recognition that having these countries in the room, trying to find
common ground, was an enormous contribution to the UN
negotiations,” he said.
But the so-called Group of
Five—Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa—has demanded
that rich nations take the lead, saying they were historically
responsible for climate change.
“Until there’s a change in
the decision of the United States, South Africa finds it very
difficult for the G5 to move forward,” South African Environment
Minister Marthinus Van Schalkwyk told reporters.
Kim Carstensen, head of the WWF
environmental group’s Global Climate Initiative, accused rich
nations of trying to stall action by putting the onus on developing
countries.
“Some rich nations get lost in
tactics and seem to forget that the survival of people and nature
crucially depends on their leadership,” he said.
The United States is the only
major industrial country to reject the Kyoto Protocol, with Bush
arguing that it is unfair by making no demands of fast-growing
emerging economies.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy
said Tuesday’s agreement meant the G8 “now has made a
commitment” on cutting emissions but that emerging economies have
not done the same.
“The United States is making a
commitment, firmly and absolutely, with the condition imposed by
their Congress that China and India also take action in a
differentiated way,” Sarkozy told reporters.
--AFP
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