31st G8 summit

Infobox G8
summit_name = 31st G8 summit
year = 2005


caption = 31rst G8 Summit official logo
country = United Kingdom
dates = July 6 – July 8,

The 31st G8 summit was held from July 6 to July 8 2005 at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Perth and Kinross, in Scotland and hosted by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The locations of previous G8 summits to have been hosted by the United Kingdom include: London (1977, 1984, 1991); and Birmingham (1998).

The G8 is an unofficial forum which brings together the heads of the richest industrialized countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada (since 1976), Russia (since 1998),Saunders, Doug. [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080704.wG8-analysis05/BNStory/International/columnists "Weight of the world too heavy for G8 shoulders,"] "Globe and Mail" (Toronto). July 5, 2008.] the President of the European Commission (since 1981). [Reuters: [http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKB26280520080703?sp=true "Factbox: The Group of Eight: what is it?"] , July 3, 2008.]

The G8 summits during the twenty-first century have also involved widespread parallel debates and protests by citizens.

Composition of summit leaders

The core membership of the G8 has remained constant since Russia joined the talks at the 1997 summit in Denver. Those who attended the summit were as follows; [ [http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/summit/2005gleneagles/delegations.html UofT G8 Information Centre: Road to St. Petersburg ] ]

Permanent

The G8 summit was the second Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who had served as host in 2001 at the Genoa summit, but had been subsequently out of office for a time.

* Canada Paul Martin, Prime Minister
* France Jacques Chirac, President
* Germany Gerhard Schröder, Chancellor
* Italy Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister
* Japan Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister
* Russia Vladimir Putin, President
* United Kingdom Tony Blair, Prime MinisterBlair also attended as President of the European Council]
* United States George W. Bush, President

Invited (partial participation)

Other non-G8 leaders were invited to attend and participate in the summit talks.

;National leaders
* Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President
* India Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister
* Mexico Vicente Fox, President
* People's Republic of China Hu Jintao, President
* South Africa Thabo Mbeki, President

;Heads of international organizationsLeaders of the major international organizations were invited to attend the summit.
* United Nations Kofi Annan, Secretary-General
* European Union Jose Manuel Barroso, Commission President
* , President

Priorities

Traditionally, the host country of the G8 summit sets the agenda for negotiations, which take place primarily amongst multi-national civil servants in the weeks before the summit itself, leading to a joint declaration which all countries can agree to sign. For the 2005 summit,

As host, the UK stated its intent to focus this G8 meeting on the issues of global climate change and the lack of economic development in Africa. The British government set the priorities of supporting Africa's economic development (by agreeing to write off debts of the poorest countries, and to significantly increase aid) and of moving forward initiatives to research and combat global warming.

Prime Minister Blair had planned to move beyond the Kyoto Protocol by looking at how to include key developing countries (India, China, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa) not included in it - principally by agreeing technology transfer of clean energy technologies in exchange for commitments on reduction of greenhouse gases. Other announced items on the agenda were counter-terrorism, non-proliferation and reform in the Middle East. The summit was overshadowed, however, by bomb attacks in London on the second day of the conference.

Aid to Africa and debt cancellation

The traditional meeting of G8 finance ministers before the summit took place in London on 10 and 11 June 2005, hosted by Chancellor Gordon Brown. On 11 June, agreement was reached to write off the entire US$40 billion debt owed by 18 Highly Indebted Poor Countries to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Fund. The annual saving in debt payments amounts to just over US$1 billion. War on Want estimates that US$45.7 billion would be required for 62 countries to meet the Millennium Development Goals. The ministers stated that twenty more countries, with an additional US$15 billion in debt, would be eligible for debt relief if they met targets on fighting corruption and continue to fulfill structural adjustment conditionalities that eliminate impediments to private investment. The agreement, which required weeks of intense negotiations led by Brown, must be approved by the lending institutions to take effect.

While negotiations have essentially taken place between the G8 member states, some of which are reluctant to endorse debt cancellation and aid increases, African governments, advocacy organizations and their allies have criticised the Blair-Brown plan as inadequate and argued that the continuation of structural adjustment policies outweighs the benefits of debt cancellation, while also pointing out that only a small proportion of the Third World debt will be affected by the proposal. In mid-July, objections by Belgium raised the possibility of the debt relief bill not being approved by the International Monetary Fund, a development that was harshly criticized by many activists.

Agreement was not reached on Brown's proposed International Finance Facility, partly because the United States said that its budget procedures meant it was unable to make the necessary long-term funding commitments.

Global warming

Development of a joint declaration on efforts to tackle global warming has been much less successful, principally because of the long-standing U. S. opposition to emission targets as a solution to global warming. The other seven G8 nations – France, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada and the United Kingdom – have ratified the Kyoto Protocol and have committed to reducing their carbon dioxide emissions by 2010. Hopes had been raised that the unprecedented [http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/document.asp?latest=1&id=3222 joint declaration] by the G8 countries' academies of sciences on the need for urgent action on global warming would help moderate the US negotiating position.

On July 6th, U. S. President Bush recognised "that the surface of the Earth is warmer and that an increase in greenhouse gases is contributing to the problem". However, he said the Kyoto treaty was not the answer. Environment campaigners called the result of the summit "a very disappointing finale". "The G8 have delivered nothing new here and the text conveys no sense of the scale or urgency of the challenge. The action plan, without any targets or timetables, will deliver very little to reduce emissions, or to roll out renewables to the scale required", said a spokesperson for Friends of the Earth. [http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/g8_summit_agrees_more_talk_08072005.html]

The U.S. also pulled out of financial pledges to fund a network of regional climate centers throughout Africa which were designed to monitor the unfolding impact of global warming. Other schemes opposed by the U.S. include the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) set up to help developing states develop economically while controlling greenhouse gas emissions. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1509877,00.html]

To address claims that flying so many people around the world to talk about global warming actually contributes substantially to it, the entire G8 Presidency was designed to be carbon neutral, with calculated resulting carbon emissions being offset by purchasing Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs) from a Clean Development Mechanism project. The Kuyasa low-income housing energy upgrade project located in Cape Town, South Africa, was chosen. The first CDM project to be registered in Africa, it involves the installation of solar water heaters, ceiling insulation and low-energy light-bulbs in hundreds of low-income homes in Khayelitsha township. [http://www.http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/carboncost/carbon-offsetting/presidency.htm]

Citizens' responses and authorities' counter-responses

Activism

As with all recent G8 summits, the meeting is the focus of many advocacy campaigns, including the Make Poverty History campaign in the United Kingdom, and the anti-globalization (a term not usually used by its supporters) movement. More than 200,000 people marched in support of Make Poverty History in Edinburgh on 2 July, the largest demonstration in Scottish history.

In addition to the Make Poverty History coalition's efforts, singer/activist Bob Geldof organised concerts in each of the G8 member states on 2 July, as well as a concert in Edinburgh on 6 July. Unlike Live Aid 20 years prior, whose primary aim was to raise money, Live 8 aimed to increase awareness among the citizens of the G8 countries, and thus force their leaders into increasing their focus on world poverty - though in fact Live 8 raised 400 times more than Live Aid simply in terms of the debt deal which the Gleneagles summit delivered; if the deal on aid is honoured it will produce an amount the equivalent of five Live Aid concerts every week. The London concert featured acts ranging from Sting and The Who to Annie Lennox, and most notably the reformation of the classic Pink Floyd line-up.

Thousands also mobilized through the G8 Alternatives and Dissent! networks to protest the G8 and discuss alternatives to the economic and political models they represent. These mobilizations have taken a more critical line towards both economic globalization (which they reject entirely) and the G8 itself, which they generally regard as illegitimate and undemocratic.

Protest took a variety of forms:

* Construction of a non-hierarchically organized, self-governing, eco-village near Stirling
* 2 July – Make Poverty History march with 175,000 to 250,000 people
* 3 July – Make Borders History tour of Glasgow, illustrating the presence of borders and immigration control measures inside of a metropolis.
* 3 July – Counter Summit organised by G8 Alternatives alongside a smaller event called G8 Corporate Dreams Global Nightmares
* 4 July – Carnival for Full Enjoyment, roving anticapitalist street parties, 1,500 to 3,000 people
* 4 July – Mass nonviolent blockade of Faslane, a Royal Navy submarine base, 2,000 to 10,000 people
* 5 July – Demonstrations against Shell, Dungavel immigrant and refugee detention center, and the limits of Gordon Brown's debt cancellation proposal
* 6 July – Blockades of roads and buses transporting ministers and support staff to Gleneagles.
* 6 July – March and rally to G8 meeting site, approximately 5000 people
* 6 July – Breach of the fence around Gleneagles Hotel by 200 people
* 6 July – Spontaneous march in Edinburgh by a few hundred protesters hoping to take coaches to the Gleneagles rally, after police falsely informed them that the march was cancelled
* 8 July – Street party in Glasgow in protest against climate change and the construction of the M74 motorway
* 8 July – various decentralised small actions against climate change as part of a global day of action
* 8 July – Small prisoner solidarity rally outside Saughton Prison, Edinburgh by around 50 demonstrators

Security and police actions

On 19 June details of the security for the summit were leaked to the British newspaper "The Independent on Sunday", because of concerns by an intelligence source that ministers were being "complacent".

The security operation, involving more than 10,000 police,many of whom were armed, possibly a number of US Marines, a Special Air Service (SAS) team and snipers,as well as the unprecedented intelligence gathering beforehand by the security service and American intelligence agencies is estimated to have cost around GB£100 million. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/g8/story/0,13365,1519649,00.html]

Police officers from all over Great Britain were called in to reinforce the local forces to maintain order in Edinburgh and other cities; even small protests were cordoned off by large numbers of police officers.

The protest legal support team estimates that at least 700 people were arrested and 350 charged. Targeted actions of London's forward intelligence teams (FIT) resulted in several of the arrests. Most people were released with strict bail conditions, having to leave the districts of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth and/or Stirling or even Scotland all together. Several people were rearrested for breaching their bail conditions. Section 60, a law allowing searches for weapons in designated areas, was continuously used to stop and search people [http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/scotland/2005/07/317711.html] .

Accomplishments

The G8 summit is an international event which is observed and reported by news media, but the G8's continuing relevance after more than 30 years is somewhat unclear. [Lee, Don. [http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-summit6-2008jul06,0,2282497.story "On eve of summit, G-8's relevance is unclear,"] "Los Angeles Times." July 6, 2008.] More than one analyst suggests that a G-8 summit is not the place to flesh out the details of any difficult or controversial policy issue in the context of a three-day event. Rather, the meeting offers an opportunity to bring a range of complex and sometimes inter-related issues. The G8 summit brings leaders together "not so they can dream up quick fixes, but to talk and think about them together."Feldman, Adam. [http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2008/07/05/problems-unity-progress-oped-cx_af_summit08_0707feldman.html "What's Wrong With The G-8,"] "Forbes" (New York). July 7, 2008.]

While many activists expressed disappointment that the agreements reached at the summit fell far short of their expectations, others noted that the 2005 summit was perhaps the most productive in the 30 year history of the G8. Some agreements were:
* US$50 billion pledged (some of it previously announced) in aid to developing countries by 2010, of which US$25 billion will go to Africa, on top of the ministerial-level agreement to forgive debt to Highly Indebted Poor Countries
* Universal access to anti-HIV drugs in Africa by 2010
* Commitment to train 20,000 peacekeeping troops for Africa in exchange for African commitments to good governance and democracy
* G8 members from the European Union commit to a collective foreign aid target of 0.56% of GDP by 2010, and 0.7% by 2015
* Stated commitment to reduce subsidies and tariffs that inhibit trade
* US$3 billion to the Palestinian Authority to build infrastructure

No agreement was reached to address global warming, largely due to U.S. opposition. The U.S. did agree to a joint communique stating that global warming exists and that human intervention may at least partially be at fault. While the U.S. had previously made such statements, this was the first time it had agreed to a multilateral announcement on the issue.

Breaking with historical practice, the British government had allowed non-governmental organizations to play a key role in deliberations, perhaps prompted by the public pressure of the Make Poverty History movement and Live 8. The summit continued the trend of including the developing world in talks. The leaders of seven African nations attended, as well as the five leading developing countries: China, India, Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa.

Subsequent analysis

Closer investigation [http://www.slrp.co.uk/test1/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=156&Itemid=1] of many of the promises made at Gleneagles reveals that some of the aid funds were rehashed versions of aid already pledged and the aid was often used to privatise public services to businesses based in the donor country. However even three years on many G8 countries were backsliding on their aid quantity commitments.

The debt deal was not ‘full’ cancellation of debts at all but only cancellation of the debts for 40 potential countries (classed as the poorest countries), and even then only after completing the ‘Highly Indebted Poor Country’ (HIPC) initiative – that means changing their economic policies at the behest of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank - meaning more of the same economic conditionalities which were highlighted as problems by the Make Poverty History campaign. For example Tanzania was forced to privatise water (to a British company – Bi-water) which led to a worse service and higher prices. In practice, only 19 developing countries signed up to the HIPC initiative. Even then, only the debt to the public international financial institutions was cancelled (so [Indonesia’s arms debts] [www.jubileescotland.org.uk] , for example, were not covered). Even then the debts will only apply to a cut off date of 2003. This came despite the fact that the Commission for Africa report noted that in many cases the debt has in practice been paid back many times over, and that the debt was often accrued by illegitimate governments propped up by rich countries. The partial debt cancellation has done some good – Zambia for example is now able to provide universal free healthcare and Tanzania has increased its education spending. However debt campaigners argue that there is still far to go to reach the needed 100 per cent.

Although the 2005 G8 communique promised that developing countries should be able to decide their own economic policies, there has been little evidence of this in practice. For example the EU went on to attempt to push so called 'Economic Partnership Agreements' on developing countries, which Trade Justice campaigners argue will not be good for developing countries, and are being forced upon them against their will.

London bombings

Because of the bombings, Blair decided to leave the G8 meeting temporarily to be present in London. He held a brief press conference, saying that the incidents were obviously terrorist attacks directed at the gathering of the G8. He also said that the meeting would continue in his absence, with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw filling in for him. Blair returned to Gleneagles by the evening of the 7th by helicopter, with heavy military escort. Reports suggest that the bombings may have been planned that day because the terrorists knew that a large number of London police officers would be deployed in Scotland, weakening the city. (Thousands of officers were deployed to Scotland from the Metropolitan Police, British Transport Police, City of London Police, Sussex Police, Gwent Police as well as many from other forces).

Bicycle accident

While attending the summit, on July 6, 2005, George W. Bush collided with a British police officer, suffering minor lacerations on his hands and arms; the officer was taken to a local hospital. [cite_news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/07/06/bush.bike/index.html
publisher=CNN|title=Bush collides with police officer during bike ride : Scraped hands, arms bandaged|date=July 7, 2005]

It was initially reported that the officer suffered only minor injuries and was taken to the hospital only as a precaution. However, the officer ended up needing crutches and missing three months of duty. [cite_news|url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002075048|publisher=Editor And Publisher|title=Scottish Paper Gets Report on Bush Bicycle Crash That Injured Constable|date=February 26, 2006] On February 26, 2006, "The Scotsman" published a previously unreleased policy report which contradicted the administration's story: :As the President passed the junction at speed he raised his left arm from the handlebars to wave to the police officers present while shouting 'thanks, you guys, for coming'. As he did this he lost control of the cycle, falling to the ground, causing both himself and his bicycle to strike [the officer] on the lower legs. [cite_news|url=http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=297002006|publisher=The Scotsman|title=US leader crashed by trying to 'pedal, wave and speak at same time'|author=Murdo Macleod|date=February 26, 2006]

John Scott, a human rights lawyer, said:"There's certainly enough in this account for a charge of careless driving. Anyone else would have been warned for dangerous driving. I have had clients who have been charged with assaulting a police officer for less than this." [cite_news|url=http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?bid=15&pid=64551|publisher=The Nation|title=BMD (Bike of Mass Destruction)|author=John Nichols|date=February 28, 2006]

Bush, who has experienced other bicycle- and Segway-related accidents, commented, "When you ride hard on a mountain bike, sometimes you fall, otherwise you're not riding hard." [cite_news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/07/AR2005070702231.html|publisher=Washington Post|title=Bush, Blair Still at Odds on Environment|author=Jim VandeHei and Paul Blustein|date=July 8, 2005]

Notes

See also

* G8

External links

* G8 Research Group: [http://www.g8.utoronto.ca G8 Information Centre] ,University of Toronto
* Official G8 website: [http://www.g8.gov.uk/ G8 Gleneagles 2005]

General
* [http://www.environmenttimes.net/ Poverty and Environment Times - current issues]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/g8/0,13365,967228,00.html Guardian Unlimited - Special Report: G8]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/3777557.stm BBC News - Profile: G8]
* [http://www.g7.utoronto.ca University of Toronto - G8 Information Centre]

Activism
* [http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/actions/2005/g8/ UK Indymedia Coverage] reporting from the protests against the summit
* [http://www.dissent.org.uk Dissent! A network of resistance against the G8] a network of groups connected to the anti-globalisation movement planning protests at the 2005 G8 Summit.
* [http://www.g8alternatives.org.uk/ G8 Alternatives] a group of NGOs, political parties and others planning protests and a conference in opposition to the G8.
* [http://redpepper.blogs.com/g8/2005/07/in_their_own_wo.html In their own words] compilation of responses by campaign groups to summit comunique
* [http://www.catalystmedia.org.uk/issues/nerve5/articles/hearts_of_gold.htm An article on the summit from Liverpool's 'Nerve' magazine]
* [http://www.g8pics.com 2005 G8 Pictures]
* [http://www.camcorderguerillas.net/g8_home.htm Camcorder Guerillas - "Why Close the G8?" film] (On the G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland)

Development
* [http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/otherhmtsites/g7/news/conclusions_on_development_110605.cfm G8 Finance Ministers’ Conclusions on Development]
* [http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/ Make Poverty History] global poverty relief charity collective planning mass convergance of people in Edinburgh in time for the Gleneagles 2005 G8 Summit
* [http://www.theonecampaign.org The One Campaign] seeks to have G8 countries donate 1% of their budgets to poverty relief, AIDS causes, etc.
* [http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page7442.asp 2005 Presidencies, Africa and Climate Change] UK government
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4686015.stm G8 debt deal under threat at IMF] , BBC, 15 June 2005
* Overseas Development Institute's [http://www.odi.org.uk/2005_portal/ G8 Portal]
* War on Want, [http://www.waronwant.org/?lid=10287 G8: Massive shortfall exposed in Gleneagles deal]
* World Development Movement (2005), [http://www.wdm.org.uk/resources/briefings/general/suspending.pdf "Suspending disbelief: The promises and actions of the G8 from 1998 – 2005"] , June 2005
* [http://www.cgdev.org/ Center for Global Development (CGD)] , (Independent Research and Practical Ideas for Global Prosperity), offers easy to understand analysis of what the G8 agreement on debt relief will mean for poor people in developing countries. See [http://www.cgdev.org/G8.cfm The Road to Gleneagles]
*"New Statesman", 4 July 2005, [http://www.newstatesman.com/200507040005 "We are deeply concerned. Again"] - G8 development concerns since 1977
*"The Guardian", 23 August 2005, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1554311,00.html "How the G8 lied to the world on aid"]
* "Scottish Left Review" Summer 2005 [http://www.slrp.co.uk/test1/images/stories/pdf/slr-111-SLRI28.pdf "Unwanted Guests: The G8 comes to Scotland"]
* "Scottish Left Review" Summer 2008 [http://www.slrp.co.uk/test1/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=156&Itemid=1 "Is Poverty History Yet?"]

Climate change
* Myles Allen, 1 July 2005, [http://www.opendemocracy.net/globalization-G8/ghost_2640.jsp "The ghost of Gleneagles"] - on the potential role of legal climate liability