Bush Hails G8 Climate Deal
July 9, 2008
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Soon after the G8 reached an agreement to cut their carbon footprint in half by 2050, President Bush was commending the deal as a big step towards fighting global warming.
Bush called the deal “significant progress”. In addition to the cuts from the G8 countries, big emerging economies were involved in the discussion. Getting China and India to the table to discuss reducing their carbon footprint was seen as a victory, in which Bush was instrumental. He said “In order to address climate change, all major economies must be at the table, and that’s what took place today.”
The agreement is also seen as a big step for certain G8 countries, namely the US, Canada, and Japan, who have previously been reluctant to set firm carbon emissions reductions targets.
After the summit, Bush praised the leaders from the rest of the G8 countries, as well as from the handful of other countries in attendance, for what they accomplished not only on global warming, but also on international development and the food crisis.
However, the historic agreement has come under fire from many areas. Some are saying that a reduction of 50% is not sufficient to stop global warming. Others contest that until China and India agree to targets for cutting their carbon footprint, the actions of others will be irrelevant. Finally, many groups are saying that without any short or medium term goals on carbon emissions cuts, the 50% goal is just rhetoric.
After the summit, the major emerging economies of China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa issued their own statement saying that not all countries should share the 50% target. The statement said, “It is essential that developed countries take the lead in achieving ambitious and absolute greenhouse gas emissions reductions.”
The carbon footprint of people in these countries remains a small fraction of that in the developed world.
Looking forward, this agreement could be used as a framework for a new climate change treaty to follow the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012.
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