Brussels, 06/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - "Protecting our children's future and leaving them a better, more prosperous, more equitable and greener world": this, says José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, is the real subject of the summit of G8 leaders to be held from Wednesday 8 to Friday 10 July in L'Aquila (Italy), under the chairmanship of Silvio Berlusconi. Global economy, climate change and energy security, food security, Africa and development will be on the agenda of this annual informal meeting which, away from the traditional format of the G8 in its strictest sense, will bring together a total of around 30 countries in variable-geometry sessions. Responsibility to the planet and solidarity towards its poorest people are reflected in this agenda and will be a central theme of the work, said Mr Barroso, presenting the EU's main hopes and expectations of this "global summit", which aims to bring sustainable responses to global challenges, in Brussels on Monday 6 July. He and Swedish Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeld, President of the European Council, will be taking part. "This year, the G8 summit is taking place against a particularly tough background. The EU has played a leading role in the actions carried out to tackle challenges such as the supervision of the financial markets, the creation of sustainable climate policies and international trade. This summit gives us the opportunity to take new commitments. We must rapidly implement the reforms of the global financial system. We must take decisive measures to combat climate change. And we must reaffirm and respect our commitments towards the poorest countries", said José Manuel Barroso.
Climate change: 153 days ahead of the UN Conference of Copenhagen (COP 15, 7-8 December) which is to conclude an ambitious global climate agreement for post-2012, "time is pressing". Mr Barroso therefore intends to "bring pressure to bear" both within the G8 and within the G8 extended to the major economies. He intends to stress the need to respect the objective, which science dictates, of limiting the increase in the average temperature to 2°C compared to the pre-industrial era, and to reiterate the long-term objective of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2050, which will require the developed countries to reduce their levels by at least 80% by this date- an objective which must be based on "solid and comparable medium-term reductions". It is clear that the industrialised countries should set the example, as has the EU, which has tabled the "most ambitious proposal" and "will continue to play a leading role". However, the Commission will also insist that the emerging economies, whose emissions are exploding, join in with the collective effort, given that all countries must make their contribution "on the basis of common but differentiated responsibilities, and of respective capacities". As funding the fight against climate change is "an important part of the solution", the EU will present its proposals in plenty of time, said Mr Barroso. In response to a journalist who asked him whether he would attempt to convince the United States to commit to a reduction objective for 2020 which is comparable to that of the EU, Mr Barroso replied: "the most important thing is having binding objectives for the developed countries, otherwise we will not be able to convince the emerging countries". He went on to voice his satisfaction at the "sea change" in the position of the United States by means of the vote of the Chamber of Representatives on the draft law The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, which "agrees to the limit of 2°C. Obama has explicitly referred to this objective", he stressed, without referring to the American reduction objective for 2020 (-17% compared to 2005, or -4% compared to 1990, when the EU committed to a 20% reduction compared to 1990 and is aiming for -30% all of the industrialised countries).
Food safety: Mr Barroso hopes that there will be a joint statement which, going beyond the commitment of $10 billion taken last year at the G8 summit of Toyako, sets an agenda in the years to come at global level. "I am pleased that world leaders are following the approach I defended last year- that of moving away from emergency food aid to food security to help farmers in the long term", he said, speaking with satisfaction of the success of the EU Food Facility, which has a budget of €1billion, plus the 4 billion already spent and 6 billion in commitments under food aid and aid to agricultural production. All of the leaders of the G8 must also honour the promises of development aid they made in Gleneagles in 2005, said Mr Barroso.
The meeting of the G8 itself (United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia) will take up only the first day and will concentrate on the global economy and various global challenges. On 9 July, the G8 + G5 (Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa) + Egypt will discuss international and development issues. This will be followed by a meeting of young representatives of the countries of the G8 (Junior 8) and of the major economies forum (Indonesia, Mexico, Republic of Korea and South Africa) on trade and climate change. On 10 July, a working breakfast on the impact of the crisis on the developing countries will bring together the leaders of the G8 and the African leaders (Algeria, Nigeria, Senegal, Egypt, South Africa, Ethiopia, Libya- as president-in-exercise of the African Union- and Angola). The G8 of L'Aquila will finish with a working session on food security open to all attendees. (A.N./transl.fl)