Climate change progress 'can be reached at G8'
Thursday, 31 May 2007 12:35
Limits for carbon dioxide emissions are likely to be set
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Progress in tackling climate change can be made at next week's G8 summit despite America having rejected the EU's all-encompassing target on reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the government's chief scientific adviser Professor Sir David King has said.
Climate change is to form a large part of the G8's focus, which is meeting in Heiligendamm in Germany from June 6th to June 8th.
Sir David said that a goal for reducing greenhouse emissions by 2050 "must" be reached next week.
"We must know what the target's going to be," he told the Today programme.
"[Britain has] already established that our target is 60 per cent reduction; we would like to see that as a minimum target from the developed countries. But we also need to have targets from the other countries present."
Sir David also believes that a fiscal process of 'carbon markets' should be established.
"Without these things we're not going to manage this enormous problem," he said.
Commenting on the US' reluctance to only have international targets, Sir David said that he believes "we do need to look at it country by country, but nevertheless we need first of all a global target and secondly we need national targets".
He added that there appears to be a shift in the US' attitude towards combating climate change.
"It's becoming very much clearer to many members of the US community that some form of agreement is required and I believe that that message has reached the White House."
Attending the G8 will be the UK, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada, France and the US.
