By Linda Sieg and William Schomberg
TOYAKO, Japan (Reuters) - The G8 rich countries want towork with the nearly 200 states involved in U.N. climate changetalks to adopt a goal of at least halving greenhouse gasemissions by 2050, a draft communique showed.
The communique, obtained by Reuters ahead of its formalapproval by Group of Eight leaders at a summit in northernJapan, also said mid-term goals would be needed to achieve theshared goal for 2050.
The statement puts the focus of fighting global warming onU.N.-led talks to create a new framework for when the KyotoProtocol expires in 2012, and papers over differences insidethe G8 itself. The U.N. talks are set to conclude in Copenhagenin December 2009.
The careful wording of the climate statement -- always themost contentious part of summit negotiations -- was alsounlikely to satisfy those seeking much more specific targets.
Last year, the G8 club of rich nations -- Japan, Britain,Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Russia and the United States --agreed merely to "seriously consider" a goal of halving globalemissions by mid-century.
The European Union and Japan have been pressing for thisyear's summit to go beyond that, and Brussels wanted clearinterim targets as well.
But U.S. President George W. Bush has insisted thatWashington cannot agree to binding targets unless big polluterssuch as China and India rein in their emissions as well.
The European Union's executive welcomed the deal on climatechange, saying it represented a "new, shared vision" and keptnegotiations on track for a global deal in 2009.
"This is a strong signal to citizens around the world,"European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said onTuesday, adding the EU's benchmark for success at the G8 summitin northern Japan had been achieved.
Global warming ties into other big themes such as soaringfood and fuel prices being discussed at the three-day meetingat a plush mountain-top hotel on the northern Japanese islandof Hokkaido, where 21,000 police have been mobilised.
In another statement released on the second day of thesummit, the leaders noted that the world economy facesuncertainty and downside risks, including that posed by a sharprise in oil prices.
The group also made a thinly veiled call for China to letthe yuan's tightly controlled exchange rate appreciate to helpreduce global financial imbalances.
"In some emerging economies with large and growing currentaccount surpluses, it is crucial that their effective exchangerates move so that necessary adjustment will occur," the G8said in the statement.
The leaders also agreed to bring major oil producers andconsumers together in a world energy forum to discuss outputand prices.
The price of food and of oil, which hit a record high of$145.85 a barrel last week, is taking a particularly heavy tollon the world's poor. A World Bank study issued last week saidup to 105 million more people could drop below the poverty linedue to the leap in food prices, including 30 million in Africa.
"How we respond to this double jeopardy of soaring food andoil prices is a test of the global system's commitment to helpthe most vulnerable," World Bank President Robert Zoellick saidon Monday. "It is a test we cannot afford to fail."
To help cushion the blow, officials said the G8 wouldunveil a series of measures to help Africa, especially itsfarmers, and would affirm its commitment to double aid to give$50 billion extra in aid by 2010, with half to go to theworld's poorest continent.
The summit wraps up on Wednesday with a Major EconomiesMeeting comprising the G8 and eight other big greenhousegas-emitting countries, including India, China and Australia.
(Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
