Europe

Merkel hails emissions cuts as "turning point"

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-06-08 01:20
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Leaders from the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrial powers Thursday reached an agreement on carbon emissions cuts which German Chancellor Angela Merkel has described as a "real turning point."

Merkel told reporters that the leaders have agreed to "substantially" cut greenhouse gases in the fight against climate change, and hailed the move a "great success" and a "real turning point."

According to the chancellor, the G8 leaders have agreed to "seriously consider" the decisions made by the European Union, Canada and Japan to cut carbon emissions to 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

They also agreed to tackle climate change within the framework of the United Nations, said Merkel.

"What can be most possibly achieved has been achieved," said Merkel.

The agreement sent a "strong signal" for the UN climate conference in December in Bali, Indonesia, where international negotiations for a post-Kyoto agreement will begin, she said.

According to a draft of the G8 summit declaration issued Thursday, the leaders agreed that further action on climate change should be based on the UN principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities," with G8 nations taking the lead.

"We acknowledge the continuing leadership role that developed economies have to play in any future climate change efforts to reduce global emissions," it said.

Meanwhile, the G8 nations would "invite" the emerging countries, including China and India, to "address the increase in their emissions by reducing the carbon intensity of their economic development," said the declaration.

Still, environmental organization Greenpeace said it was disappointed by the G8 agreement.

"This is too little," said Greenpeace, adding that the G8 leaders have finally failed to agree on binding targets.

Germany, which holds the rotating G8 presidency, has called for action to limit the rise in global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius this century, which experts say requires a global reduction in emissions of 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

However, the United States, the world's biggest greenhouse gas producer, had voiced "fundamental opposition" to mandatory targets, making climate change one of the most controversial issues during the G8 summit.

Shortly before the summit, U.S. President George W. Bush announced a separate plan, calling on 15 of the world's biggest greenhouse emitters to meet and agree on long-term goals by the end of 2008.

The United States, which has not signed the Kyoto Protocol, said environmental protection cannot come at the price of economic growth.

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