G8 set new global warming targets

G8 set new global warming targets

Leaders of the G8 leading industrial countries have agreed to try to limit global warming to just 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels by 2050.

The summit, in the Italian city of L'Aquila, also set tough new targets for carbon emissions 1 considered necessary to achieve the goal.

Developed nations are to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, to allow a global 50% reduction by the same date.

Analysts 2 say there is no indication of how the targets, or costs, will be met.

Developed nations have been criticised for ducking interim 3 goals, and difficult talks still lie ahead as negotiators try to firm up the ambitious（有雄心的，有抱负的） goals, correspondents say.

Also, the cut in carbon emissions is only a target and will need the co-operation of rapidly industrialising such as China and India.

BBC economics correspondent Andrew Walker adds that the baseline for the cuts could be later than 1990.

That could allow some countries more modest cuts, as emissions in most rose after that date.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was confident non-G8 countries would back the commitments when climate change was discussed on Thursday.

Mr Brown said the G8 deal paved the way for a global agreement at the UN conference in Copenhagen in December.

"I hope tomorrow when we meet other countries we'll follow that through and this is a very significant development, the first time it's ever been done," he said.

Security summit

The summit agenda also includes the global economic downturn, food security, terrorism, and nuclear proliferation.（核扩散）

On Wednesday, the G8 leaders issued a statement reaffirming that they were "deeply concerned" by Iran's nuclear programme.

They also condemned 4 North Korea's recent nuclear test and missile launches.

US President Barack Obama announced he would call a summit on nuclear security in Washington next March.

The G8 - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, UK and the US - are joined at the summit by leaders or representatives from the G5 group of emerging economies - Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa.

Chinese president Hu Jintao flew back to Beijing amid continuing unrest in the western region of Xinjiang.

On the global economy, an official statement noted 5 "some signs of stabilisation（稳定）" but that the outlook remained uncertain, with "significant risks".

"We will take, individually and collectively, the necessary steps to return the global economy to a strong, stable and sustainable growth path," the statement said.

Mr Brown said G8 leaders recognised that the path out of recession was not yet secure, citing the recent rise in oil prices to $75 a barrel and fears of rising unemployment.

Earthquake zone

The area where the three-day summit is being held is still suffering aftershocks from the April quake and an evacuation（撤离，疏散） plan is in place in case a serious tremor 6 should hit.

African leaders will join the summit on Friday to push for a new initiative to fund farming in the developing world and tackle global hunger.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi moved the summit from Sardinia to L'Aquila to show solidarity 7 with the victims of April's earthquake.

He took Mrs Merkel on a tour of Onna, a village almost flattened 8 by the quake, and later Mr Obama was given a tour of L'Aquila to survey the damage.

On Wednesday, dozens of protesters occupied four coal power plants in different regions of Italy, demanding tougher measures in fighting climate change, Greenpeace said.

In Rome on Tuesday police said they had arrested 36 people after masked protesters blocked roads, threw objects and set fire to tyres.

The BBC's Bridget Kendall in L'Aquila says the big question hovering（悬停） over the summit is whether the whole concept of G8 has been outdated 9 and if a bigger gathering 10 - a G20 - is needed to tackle today's problems. (本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)