Climate change on the G8 agenda

IHT reports that climate change is among the items expected to top the G-8 summit agenda of Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as he left on for the international talks in Germany:

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a newcomer to the Group of Eight summit, has made climate change a priority for the meeting. He plans to present a proposal, unveiled last month, calling for the world to aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050 as part of a new global warming pact to succeed the Kyoto Protocol.

Ahead of his departure, Abe told reporters that other G-8 nations' responses to the proposal have generally been positive, though differences remain.

"There is still a gap between the European Union and the United States, so Japan needs to take the initiative to steer toward a direction that each country can approve of generally. I feel that is our major responsibility," Abe said.


Reuters has more (but makes no reference to Shinzo Abe's efforts): Cracks on Climate as G8 Leaders Meet in Germany

More on Japan's plan to cut CO2 emissions by half by 2050 here.

(If you click on my labels - such as Climate Change or GMO - you get a list of all blog entries I have made on that particular subject)

Comments

Pandabonium said…
The reluctance of the US to take action is mind boggling. I think the majority of Americans favor tackling the issue, but those running the show have a big economic interest not to (short term thinking). Pressure is building and I think Abe is right to say Japan needs to be an agent for change.

There are plenty of things I don't like about Mr. Abe, but I have been impressed with his actions in this area.

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