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British PM: G8 should boost fight against climate change
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-05 19:51 LONDON -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Saturday called on Britain's Group of Eight (G8) partners to boost their anti-climate change efforts for the sake of their economies. "The world is suffering a triple challenge: of higher fuel prices, higher food prices and a credit crunch," said Brown in an interview with British newspaper the Guardian. "My message to the G8 will be that instead of sidelining climate change and the development agenda, the present economic crisis means that instead of relaxing our efforts we have got to accelerate them." "This agenda is not just the key to the environment and reducing poverty, but the key to our economic future as well," he said. He made the call prior to the annual G8 Summit scheduled for July 7-9 in Japan's Hokkaido amid fears that the G8 countries are likely to backpedal on their pledges to cut carbon emissions and increase aid to poor countries after most G8 members have witnessed a sharp slowdown in their economic growth in the past year and the skyrocketing oil price hike at the international market in recent months. Brown said the upcoming summit, the first since he took the premiership in July last year, will be judged on whether it rolls back protectionism, supports projects for cleaner energy and comes up with blueprints for reducing global oil and food prices. He said he will consider it a success if the G8 countries show their unity, give strong backing to a new global free-trade deal and push ahead on climate change and development. The G8, which evolved from the Group of Seven, consists of the world's eight leading industrialized powers -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States. |
