EU rep: G-8 summit must set tough goals for emissions cuts

The European Union aims to establish clear, ambitious goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions among the Group of Eight countries by their July summit, a top aide to the European Commission president said.

"It is important that the G-8 summit will provide an impulse to the process that will lead us hopefully to an agreement (on climate change) in 2009," Joao Vale de Almeida, head of Jose Manuel Barroso's Cabinet, said in a recent interview in Tokyo.

He was referring to the United Nations negotiations on the new framework to fight global warming that would succeed the Kyoto Protocol when its compliance period ends in 2012.

Vale de Almeida, 51, is a top EU official responsible for preparing for the summit at Hokkaido's Lake Toyako with his counterparts from the G-8 countries.

"We are working (to ensure) the G-8 conclusions will represent a step forward compared to (the 2007 summit in) Heiligendamm, Germany, and a good contribution to the success of the U.N. negotiations," he said.

At Heiligendamm, the G-8 leaders agreed to "consider seriously" plans proposed by the EU, Canada and Japan to halve global emissions by 2050.

A key question this year is whether the G-8 countries will agree on a specific long-term goal for emissions cuts, as well as a midterm goal for around 2020-2030.

"We need to move forward on the long-term goal. We need a long-term goal that is agreed at this level," Vale de Almeida said. "It is important at this stage of the international negotiations that the

G-8 countries can give a clear message to the rest of the world about their commitment to a long-term objective."

He added: "The clearer we are (about the goals) the better. (But) I'm not saying exactly how clear we should be because this is a long negotiation."

Vale de Almeida said he expects U.S. President George W. Bush, who opted out of the Kyoto Protocol on the grounds that it would hurt U.S. economic growth, will fall in line with other

G-8 leaders on ambitious targets.

In a speech April 16, Bush announced the United States, the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter, will try to halt growth in its emissions by 2025--a target that immediately came under fire as too conservative.

Germany's environment minister, Sigmar Gabriel, labeled it "Bush's Neanderthal speech."

In Tokyo, Vale de Almeida said: "(The speech) is the first useful step. But overall, we believe that it is not ambitious enough for what the world requires from a major economy like the United States.

"We hope that in Toyako, President Bush ... could rally around an ambitious conclusion of the G-8 summit."

Vale de Almeida stressed the EU position that industrialized economies must adopt numerical targets for emissions cuts under the envisaged post-2012 framework.

Japan has yet to announce its own midterm goal. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe only called for the halving of global emissions by 2050.

The EU's stated goal is to cut its emissions at least 20 percent by 2020 from its 1990 level.

In January, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, as summit chair, proposed that potential reduction amounts for various sectors, such as industry or households, be totaled to arrive at a national target.

"The bottom-up approach (advocated by Japan) is totally acceptable as a principle, provided that it delivers results. But we believe that it should be accompanied by commitments to reduce emissions in a binding way," Vale de Almeida said.(IHT/Asahi: April 30,2008)