G8 'fails to dig deep' on emission cuts

WORLD leaders at the G8 summit came under fierce attack from environmental campaigners last night despite committing themselves to cut global emissions in half by 2050.

Green groups said the target – a slight toughening of last year's pledge – was now redundant and cuts of 80 to 95 per cent were needed to prevent global warming becoming life-threatening.

Eilidh Whiteford, campaigns manager for Oxfam Scotland, said: "At this rate, by 2050 the world will be cooked and the G8 leaders will be long forgotten. The G8's endorsement of a tepid '50 by 50' climate goal leaves us with a 50/50 chance of a climate meltdown."

G8 nations, meeting in Japan, yesterday vowed to "consider and adopt" the goal of reducing by 50 per cent emissions "from all major economies". Previously they had promised to "seriously consider" hitting the target.

Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, said there had been "major progress" beyond what was thought feasible only a few months ago. "Countries which previously objected to setting overall targets have accepted these targets subject to there being an international agreement," he said.

And Nigel Griffiths, Labour MP for Edinburgh South, said: "It's remarkable that Gordon Brown has achieved this consensus to get even to 50 per cent. Can you imagine the Texan, George Bush, agreeing to this even two, three or four years ago?"

But environmentalists raised concerns that there were no interim international targets for countries to hit, despite the need for global emissions to peak no later than 2015.

There was also confusion about which year the 50 per cent target would be measured from. Campaigners want it to refer to 1990 emissions but the Japanese prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda, said it should be from current – and higher – rates.

Campaigners warned that it could cost more than £40 billion a year to help developing nations avoid damaging the environment as their economies grow. Hundreds of coal-fired power stations are being built in China as it moves from an nation based primarily on agriculture.

There was also alarm that money being allocated to tackle climate change would come out of aid budgets – meaning less would be spent on food, education and health measures.

Greenpeace's executive director, John Sauven, said: "The G8 could and should have ruled out the scores of new coal-fired power stations set to be built across the industrialised world, threatening any hope we have of beating climate change. Instead, we got a festival of vacuous back-slapping that bore no relation to the scientific reality."

Tom Picken, Friends of the Earth's international climate campaigner, accused G8 leaders of an "elaborate smokescreen" to try to fool the world they were showing leadership on global warming. "Setting a vague target for 42 years' time is utterly ineffectual in the face of the global catastrophe we all face," he said.

Yesterday the Commons environmental audit committee said politicians must act upon scientific advice, which requires emissions cuts in the UK and developed countries of 25-40 per cent by 2020 and 80-95 per cent by 2050. It also warned them not to undermine world efforts by backing airport expansions.

Edinburgh North and Leith Labour MP Mark Lazarowicz, who sits on the committee, told The Scotsman: "The agreement is some progress. Nevertheless, it's by no means enough if the world is going to meet the much bigger figure needed if we are going to have any hope of reversing serious climate change."

Meanwhile, all airlines flying in and out of the EU countries will face pollution limits from 2012 – and this will mean higher ticket prices. By 2020, a levy of up to £31.40 may have to be added, according to a European Commission report.

WHAT NEXT

HOUSEHOLDERS are to be encouraged to switch to energy-efficient lightbulbs, stop leaving electrical appliances on stand-by and consider purchasing "hybrid" electric cars under moves to reduce energy dependency.

The G8 yesterday unveiled 25 ideas to cut energy, with Gordon Brown saying he hoped one consequence of soaring oil and petrol prices would be the encouragement of vehicle manufacturers to build cheaper "greener" cars, which are exempt from road tax.

The Prime Minister said: "The combination of the car licence and petrol prices could, if we develop new technology, be to the benefit of car drivers... These hybrid cars... are not just for a few but cars that the ordinary family would think of buying."

Brown uses grisly photo to win Mugabe sanctions

A SHOCKING image of the mutilated body of an opponent of Robert Mugabe was yesterday shown to G8 leaders by Gordon Brown, to convince them to back sanctions against Zimbabwe.

And last night, Mr Mugabe was said to be ready to form a government with the opposition, only hours after the G8 stated they would seek the targeted sanctions against him.

Earlier, Mr Brown, the Prime Minister, circulated pictures of the body of Joshua Bakacheza, an activist for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) who was seized by Mr Mugabe's henchmen last month.

A Downing Street source said: "The Prime Minister was telling other world leaders that … every day we wait to act, more innocent people will suffer."

Later Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, Zimbabwe's foreign minister, said the way forward was for Mr Mugabe to form "an all-inclusive government where all the political parties take part". However, he remained vague on the role that Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the MDC, could take.

Mr Brown had also announced that the G8 countries were agreed over the need to press the United Nations to impose fresh sanctions on Mr Mugabe and his regime.

The UK is already signed up to EU sanctions, but the G8's own agreement removes the threat of Russia vetoing UN action.

The UN is to send a peace envoy to the Zimbabwean capital city, Harare, in a sign of the lack of progress achieved by the South African leader, Thabo Mbeki, and the African Union wants to force Mr Mugabe to rescind his claim on the presidency after losing one election and fixing another.

Mr Brown plans to hold talks with Mr Mbeki today.

Promises to double aid will be kept

A PROMISE to double annual aid to Africa by £12.5 billion by 2010 was agreed by the G8 yesterday, but campaigners warned time is running out the wealthy nations to honour their pledge.

The commitment, made at the G8 summit at Gleneagles in 2005, was thought to be at risk as a result of the global economic crisis. Poverty campaigners feared that aid to Africa – and the £12.5 billion promised to the rest of the developing world – would be jettisoned as governments concentrated on domestic issues.

But Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, said he was delighted the Gleneagles pledges had been retained, with the members also agreeing to supply 100 million malaria nets – potentially saving 600,000 lives – and to spend £10 billion on promoting agriculture, £1 billion on providing school places and £60 billion on combating infectious diseases.

Mr Brown also insisted he was the right man to lead the UK through the global credit crunch. "I believe the British economy is in a better position than most, so I am going to take the British economy through these difficulties," he said.