World leaders say they will aim to set a global target of cutting carbon emissions by at least 50 per cent by 2050 in an effort to tackle climate change.
Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who is hosting a summit of the Group of Eight most industrialised nations, made the announcement after all-night talks in Hokkaido.
The leaders have also expressed serious concerns about the threat posed to the global economy by soaring oil prices, with the price of crude oil has doubled since the last G8 summit, with highs of more than $146 (£72) a barrel.
In the summit’s climate communiqué, leaders from the G8 nations - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States - said: “Substantial progress toward such a long-term goal requires, inter alia, in the near-term, the acceleration of the deployment of existing technologies, and in the medium- and long-term, will depend on the development and deployment of low-carbon technologies in ways that will enable us to meet our sustainable economic development and energy security objectives. In this regard, we emphasize the importance and urgency of adopting appropriate measures to stimulate development and deployment of innovative technologies and practices.”
It also acknowledges that to make progress, G8 countries have to take the lead through ambitious interim goals and national plans to achieve their aim. A full copy of the statement is available here.
In their annual assessment of the global economy, the leaders said they remained positive about the long-term resilience of their economies, so long as countries resisted the introduction of trade barriers.
Responding to the G8 climate communiqué, Eilidh Whiteford, Campaigns Manager for Oxfam Scotland, said: “At this rate, by 2050 the world will be cooked and the G8 leaders will be long forgotten. The G8’s endorsement of a tepid ‘50 by 50’ climate goal leaves us with a 50/50 chance of a climate meltdown.”
Oxfam highlight that there is no agreed baseline year for the 50 per cent reduction, and no agreement on when emissions will peak and begin to decline.
Whiteford adds: “Rather than a breakthrough, the G8’s announcement on 2050 is another stalling tactic that does nothing to lower the risk faced by millions of poor people right now.”
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