Greenhouse gas talks hang in the balance

Source: Agencies  |   2008-7-2  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

G8 leaders have a 50-50 chance of agreeing next week on a global goal of halving greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century, a Japanese foreign ministry official said, adding that failure could hurt UN-led climate talks.

Leaders meet for the July 7-9 Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido, northern Japan, and Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda hopes to build momentum for talks on a global emissions framework before the Kyoto Protocol's first phase ends in 2012.

Fukuda also needs a diplomatic success to bolster his weak ratings at home, where speculation persists that his party might try to replace him before an election due next year.

G8 leaders agreed last year in Heiligendamm, Germany, to seriously consider a global goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050. Climate campaigners say this year's summit should go further by endorsing that goal and linking it to bold shorter-term targets for developed countries.

But divisions among the United States, Europe and Japan have raised doubts about how much the leaders can achieve next week.

"You need the leaders to exert a robust political message to the world which will be driving progress in the UN negotiations," Koji Tsuruoka, director-general for global issues at Japan's foreign ministry, said. He said a G8 failure to act would send a negative message to the UN negotiations.

"The stakes are very high," he said, adding that the chances of agreement were 50-50.