Global Warming, Trade Become Top Priorities at 2009 G8 Summit in Italy

Global warming and international trade were two of the biggest issues to discuss during the second day of the G8 Summit in L’Aquila, Italy on Thursday.

The leaders met under the format of Major Economies Forum (MEF), which brought together 17 nations including the G8 industrialized countries and five emerging economies, namely Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa.

U.S. President Barack Obama will chair the climate discussions, but India and China thwarted progress in those areas when they refused to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by half by 2050.

The declining global economy dominated the first day of the annual G8 summit, with the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia acknowledging that there were still significant risks to financial stability.

The Group of Eight also announced that they will try to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) compared with pre-industrial levels and pledged to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by between 50 and 80 percent by mid-century.

The EU has been pushing for reduction by half from the base year of 1990, while the U.S. wants to use the emission level in 2005, which is higher than that in 1990, as the reference.

Economically, several countries asked to pursue other avenues to emerge from this economic downturn. China, India and Brazil have all questioned whether the world should start seeking a new global reserve currency as an alternative to the dollar.

Diplomats say the G8 and G5 should agree to conclude the stalled Doha round of trade talks in 2010. The G5 issued a statement calling for larger countries to open up trade in order to help developing countries cope with the global economic crisis.

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