G8+5

The G8+5 group of leaders consists of the heads of government from the G8 nations (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States), plus the heads of government of the 5 leading emerging economies (Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa).

February 2007 Declaration

On February 16, 2007, at meeting of the G8+5 Climate Change Dialogue in Washington, D.C., a non-binding agreement was reached to cooperate on tackling global warming. The group accepted that the existence of man-made climate change was beyond doubt, and that there should be a global system of emission caps and carbon emissions trading applying to both industrialized nations and developing countries. The group hopes that this will be in place by 2009, to supersede the Kyoto Protocol, the first phase of which expires in 2012. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6364663.stm BBC: Politicians sign new climate pact, February 16, 2007] ] [ [http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,2014683,00.html Guardian Unlimited: Global leaders reach climate change agreement] ] .

Foundation

The G8+5 group was formed in 2005 when Tony Blair, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in his role as host of the 31st G8 summit at Gleneagles, Scotland, invited the leading emerging countries to join the talks. The hope was that this would form a stronger and more representative group that would inject fresh impetus into the trade talks at Doha, and the need to achieve a deeper cooperation on climate change.

Following the meeting, the countries issued a joint statement looking to build a "new paradigm for international cooperation" in the future.

The G8+5 Climate Change Dialogue was launched on February 24, 2006, by the Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE) [ [http://www.globeinternational.org/index.php GLOBE international] ] in partnership with the "Com+" alliance of communicators for sustainable development. [ [http://www.complusalliance.org Com+ alliance] ]

Institutionalization

Following the 33rd G8 summit Heiligendamm 2007, the chancellor Angela Merkel announced the establishment of the "Heiligendamm Process" through which the full institutionalization of the permanent dialogue between the G8 countries and the 5 greatest emerging economies will be implemented. This will include the establishment of a common G8 and G5 platform at the OECD.(see: "Die G8 - Akteure in einer globalen Entwicklungspartnerschaft; http://www.bmz.de/de/service/infothek/fach/spezial/index.html)

Most recently on August 28th 2007, French president Nicolas Sarkozy in a foreign policy statement proposed that Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa should become members of G8: "The G8 can't meet for two days and the G13 for just two hours.... That doesn't seem fitting, given the power of these five emerging countries." Nevertheless, for the time being (2008) formal enlargement of G8 is no realistic political option since G8 states have diverging positions on this issue. The US and Japan have been against enlargement, the United Kingdom and France actively in favour, whereas Italy, Germany, Russia and Canada are reserved.Fact|date=April 2008

ee also

*Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
*Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change conference
*G20 Climate Change Dialogue

External links

* [http://www.g8.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1094235520309 "Policy Issues: G8"]

In the media

*Feb 16, 2007, CNS News: [http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200702/CUL20070216b.html Lawmakers prod G8 leaders on climate change]

References