HESITATION AT THE G8 SUMMIT

G8 makes scant progress to Copenhagen climate pact
Alister Doyle (w/Janet McBride), July 9, 2009 (Reuters)

"A G8 summit made scant progress toward a new U.N. climate treaty due to be agreed in December with some nations back-pedalling on promises of new action even before the end of a meeting in Italy…

"Among disappointments, the G8 failed to persuade China and India and other developing nations to sign up for a goal of halving world emissions by 2050…Among progress, rich and poor nations acknowledged that temperature rises should be limited to 2 Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) -- a goal that would force deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions if followed through. And G8 nations set a new goal of cutting their overall emissions by 80 percent by 2050…"

How many reasons do they need to set aside their differences and get busy? (click to enlarge)

"But the focus of talks on a new U.N. deal is on 2020 cuts in emissions by developed nations and ways to raise tens of billions of dollars in new funds to help poor nations combat droughts, floods, heatwaves and rising sea levels…[Top UN climate official Yvo] De Boer said he understood a refusal by developing nations to sign up for the G8 goal to halve world emissions by 2050…before the rich came up with funding plans and set goals for their own 2020 emissions…

"…[C]racks appeared even in the G8 deal to seek cuts of 80 percent by developed nations by 2050…A Russian official said the 80 percent goal was unachievable for Russia. And Canada's Environment Minister Jim Prentice said the goal was aspirational and fit Canada's target of cutting emissions by 60 to 70 percent below 2006 levels by 2080…"

There's not much of it left that isn't red. (click to enlarge)

"The arrival of President Barack Obama at the White House, promising more action than President George W. Bush, has helped the atmosphere…[But] Obama's push for quick action by Congress on climate change legislation suffered a setback… when the U.S. Senate committee leading the drive delayed work on the bill until September…

"The [next big international] events planned are two summits in September -- one at U.N. headquarters in New York and a G20 summit in Pittsburgh. Obama said that finance ministers would look into climate financing and report back to Pittsburgh…[A]part from summits, there are three rounds of U.N. negotiations among senior officials before Copenhagen -- in Bonn in August, Bangkok in late September and Barcelona in November."