4 July 2005Yahoo NewsMartin OÂ'Hanlon
Prime Minister Paul Martin will do what he can at the G8 meeting in Scotland to persuade his neighbour George W. Bush to recognize the reality of climate change, say senior Canadian officials. But no one should expect the American president to sign on to the Kyoto Protocol against global warming, they said, adding that just an acknowledgement of climate change would be a big step.
Officials, who held a background briefing for reporters Monday during Martin's trip to Ireland, said the G8 countries are making progress in pre-meeting talks on both climate change and aid for Africa.
They said leaders won't all agree to British Prime Minister Tony Blair's call to raise aid for poor countries to 0.7 per cent of GDP by 2015, but they will agree to his challenge to double aid for Africa to $50 billion US by 2010.
Canada has already decided to double aid to the troubled continent by 2008-09 and double overall aid by 2010. But critics say that would only bring total aid worldwide to about 0.37 per cent of the current GDP.
The United States, the world's richest country, lags far behind others in the percentage of GDP it commits to aid: just 0.16 per cent.
Bush announced last week that he will ask Congress to double U.S. support for Africa by the target date.
Blair has described Africa's condition as a "scar on the conscience of the world."
A number of G8 leaders have signed on to Blair's 0.7 target but Martin has refused, saying it would be irresponsible to make a promise he's not sure Canada can keep. He has even chided some of the leaders who have said they will reach that target.
Canadian officials noted that while several countries have agreed to the 0.7 target, some have attached caveats tied to economic growth.
They also said the Africa plan will build on the current process of tying aid to good governance to ensure money isn't wasted.
Martin heads to Scotland on Wednesday to meet with Bush, Blair and the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.
The meetings will be held under heavy security in the luxury golf resort at Gleneagles, about an hour's drive north of Edinburgh. Thousands of demonstrators have been protesting in Edinburgh in recent days. They want the leaders to go even further to help poor countries.
In addition to pouring billions more dollars into Africa through aid and investment, the leaders have already agreed to cancel $40 billion in debt to the world's poorest countries.
They are also expected to pledge to work for a successful conclusion of the current Doha Round of global trade talks, which has as a top priority reducing rich country trade barriers, such as huge farm subsidies which depress the exports of poor countries.
Canadian officials said the leaders will discuss soaring oil prices and will underscore their commitment to the free market and transparency of supply and demand. There are no plans to discuss a regulatory scheme to control prices.
Other items on the agenda include Iraq, Iran, North Korea and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and the leaders of India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa will meet with the G8 on Thursday while leaders of several African countries will hold talks on Friday.
The United States is the only G8 country that has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, claiming it would hurt the economy.
Environmentalists say Blair should consider leaving his U.S. ally behind as he tries to unite the world's top democracies behind urgent action against global warming. Blair has called climate change "probably the most serious threat we face."
On Monday, Bush described climate change as a "significant" issue, but he called for shifting the debate away from limits on greenhouse gas emissions to new technology that would reduce environmental damage without restricting energy use.
A British official involved in the pre-summit talks said the G8 could reach an accord on global warming that recognizes the problem and the need to combat it.
