Climate pledge fails to allay post-Kyoto worries
Greenwire, 9 July 2008 –
The Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido, Japan, ended today with leaders of the world's major industrial nations failing to convince developing nations to join a commitment for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050.
The emissions impasse -- pitting nations like the United States and Japan, which insist emerging economies must do their part to curb global warming, against states like Brazil, China and India -- is heightening concerns that negotiations on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol climate agreement are doomed to fall short or fail completely. Nations have committed to finalizing a post-2012 treaty under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by the time they meet in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009.
In a G-8 chairman's statement prepared by host country Japan and adopted by the leaders at the close of the summit, member states confirmed their promise to "consider and adopt in the UNFCCC negotiations, the goal of achieving at least 50 percent reduction of global emissions by 2050, recognizing that this global challenge can only be met by a global response." Governments hailed the 50% pledge yesterday as a major breakthrough in climate negotiations. But critics quickly challenged that assertion, arguing the statement amounted to little more than a repetition of an earlier pledge made at the start of the UNFCCC process.
Many climate activists say a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% is needed to avoid the most serious consequences of climate change that many scientists fear. "The G-8's endorsement of an aspirational long-term climate goal is a positive step but far short of a solution," Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, said in a statement. While a 50% cut in greenhouse gas pollution may help the world avoid the catastrophic consequences, she added, "cutting global emissions in half by 2050 probably would not avoid dangerous climate change altogether."
Some other nongovernment representatives expressed satisfaction with the G-8 pledge, but said concrete, multi-decade interim targets are needed to spell out how countries intend to achieve 50% reductions by 2050. Many believe such an approach is the only way to get Brazil, India, China and other emerging economies on board. "Despite hoping for more, the level of G-8 agreement this week exceeds our expectations," said Steve Howard, chief executive of the advocacy firm the Climate Group, in a release. "The challenge now is to build momentum for Copenhagen.
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