Access
This article is part of Nature's premium content.
Published online 9 July 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.660
News
G8 leaders fail to agree on carbon cuts before 2050
Summit declaration says 2 °C warming must be avoided.
Leaders of the world's major industrialized nations have formally agreed for the first time that average global temperatures should not increase by more than 2 °C from their preindustrial level. But the G8 meeting this week in L'Aquila, Italy, failed to narrow the gap between rich countries and rapidly developing nations such as China and India over how reductions in global greenhouse-gas emissions should be achieved.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Comments
Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email webadmin@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.
The discussion should focus on how developed countries can help (financially and technologically) developing nations on economic growth with minimum environmental damages. For instance, c. 75% Brazilian greenhouse gas emissions are from Amazon deforestation and further cultivation of cattle, soy, etc. Financially helping Brazilian government to diminish illegal deforestation, together with a technological support to increase efficiency of agriculture in other regions would be the most efficient way to cut Brazilian emissions and protect Amazon (a main concern of rich countries). Finally, sustainable development of Amazon region (exploring native products of the forest) is also necessary to decrease poverty of local people.
The Carbon Tax on Everything is the carbon tax on everything Chinese and South Asian. G-8 will tax (erect entry tariffs to) Chinese and Indian goods to make their own uneconomic products competitive, to generate revenue against obscene deficits, and protect obsolete remnants of New World and European manufacture. The Carbon Tax on Everything is about stolen revenue, trade restriction, and political criminality. It has nothing to do with the environment nor has it ever.
The tragedy of the commons
What a pity, bigger countries like India/China/Russia with big carbon foot print doesn't want to reduce their domestic emission of green house gas at the expenses of economic growth instead they can expense and jeopardize life of miliions of people in the region due to global change driven natural calamities such as flood etc. I think these big country should have some sense of responsibility to protect this beautiful planet. It will neither wise nor to follow the big mistake already made by US. Hope at the end of the day, all will go well. Anil
as US had made a big mistake, then he must pay more for carbon cuts.