Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Selling Us Out in L'Aquila

They've done it. The major greenhouse gas emitters, including China and India, have killed off an effort for a 50 per cent cut in carbon emissions by 2050. From AFP news service:

Major polluting nations watered down their ambitions to tackle global warming at a G8 summit in Italy on Wednesday despite growing pressure to set tough targets to cut pollution.

The Group of Eight leading industrialised nations and other major economies -- including China and India -- dropped a pledge to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, a European Union official said.

"There is indeed a very strong commitment to identify the global goal for substantially reducing global emissions by 2050, but there is no 50 percent" mentioned in a draft declaration, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Leaders face mounting pressure to make ambitious commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions at the summit in L'Aquila with the clock ticking for a key December meeting in Copenhagen to set international targets.

Meanwhile the Europeans are suspicious that Washington is negotiating a backroom deal with Beijing on emissions that will fall far short of what's needed if there's to be any hope of avoiding catastrophic climate change. Harper will undoubtedly be delighted to drink from the same bowl, especially if Washington and Beijing hold the seat up.

According to The New York Times, the draft resolution of the G8 calls for an "aspirational global goal" of a 50% cut by 2050. That's the same flim flam Bush agreed to at the G8 summit last year in Japan.

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