The Group of 8, meeting in Italy, backs a reduction in overall emissions by half by 2050 and 80% for industrialized nations. But leaders of developing nations balk at the plan.
Reporting from L'Aquila, Italy -- The world's biggest polluters failed to reach an agreement today on a plan to cut greenhouse-gas emissions in half by 2050, after developing nations decided not to sign on to the idea during an international summit here.
Leaders of the Group of 8 industrial nations said they would issue a statement committing to the standard later today, pledging to cut overall emissions by 50% by the middle of the century and reducing those of industrialized nations by 80%.
But leaders of developing nations balked at the plan, according to sources who were present for the talks but asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak for the group.
The major economies forum, which includes the world's leading greenhouse-gas emitters, will not issue such a joint declaration after its meeting Thursday, White House officials confirmed.
President Obama's lead climate negotiator said the global standard is still on the table as the nations work toward a summit in Copenhagen in December and characterized the forthcoming MEF statement as "significant progress."
The major economies forum, which includes the world's leading greenhouse-gas emitters, will not issue such a joint declaration after its meeting Thursday, White House officials confirmed.
President Obama's lead climate negotiator said the global standard is still on the table as the nations work toward a summit in Copenhagen in December and characterized the forthcoming MEF statement as "significant progress."
"I'd have been delighted to get to 80/50," climate point man Todd Stern said this afternoon. "We didn't quite get there. . . . This is a negotiation, and I hope we can get there down the road."
President Barack Obama landed earlier today in this earthquake-ravaged region of Italy for a summit of the Group of 8 nations as his aides voiced confidence that leaders would maintain their support for economic stimulus strategies in the face of a global recession and said the best commitment that the United States could make on climate change lies with energy legislation moving through Congress.
Obama, arriving in L'Aquila on a sun-drenched afternoon, was greeted by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the leaders of the other participating nations, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
L'Aquila was the site of a devastating earthquake in April that killed 300 people and crumbled historic buildings hundreds of years old. Obama was to tour the area with Berlusconi to survey the damage later in the day.
Earlier today, Obama stopped off in Rome to hold closed-door talks with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. After their meeting, Obama praised ties between Washington and Rome, calling Italy "a great friend" of the U.S.
Obama said the two nations were working together to strengthen oversight of financial institutions and were "working hand in hand in places like Afghanistan to ensure that we're isolating extremists and strengthening the forces of moderation around the world."
At his side, Napolitano said that the actions and initiatives of the first six months of the Obama administration "enjoyed a broad consensus in Italian public opinion." He also expressed hope that Europe would speak with one voice, to remain an influential force in world affairs.
Security has been heavily beefed up for the summit. Police officers were posted on nearly every bridge overlooking highways leading to L'Aquila, about 60 miles outside of Rome.
The Italian news agency ANSA reported that the nation's military had deployed 2,500 troops, Predator drone aircraft, a NATO spy plane and a Hawk missile battery to protect the leaders who will be both staying and working in L'Aquila through Friday.
Michael Froman, Obama's point man on the G-8 summit, said this morning that there is a "consensus view" among the nations' leaders that "we are still in the midst of an economic downturn," and that world leaders were not planning any mass exodus from their shared plan to stimulate recovery.
Leaders have said "it's time to prepare exit strategies," Froman said, "but not necessarily to put them into place yet."
World leaders gathered in L'Aquila for a noontime luncheon and then a series of meetings on issues ranging from the global economy to nuclear nonproliferation and food security.
Obama presided over a side meeting of the major economies with a focus on climate issues. That summit has suffered a setback with Chinese President Hu Jintao's return home to deal with deadly rioting in Xinjiang.
But White House officials said that meetings today and Thursday still can be productive, and Froman rebuffed suggestions that the Italian hosts had not put together an organized session. He denied reports that the U.S. had called an emergency meeting of the summit's "sherpas" to take charge of the session.
"The Italian presidency has done a terrific job preparing for the summit," Froman said. "The Italians defined an agenda early on and worked methodically" on it.
"The way the G-8 works," he said, is "we all do our part."
On the Chinese leader's departure, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said, "It's our understanding that he's gone back to China, so it appears as if he won't be there to meet with the president, but we will have a delegation meet with their delegation."
Asked about what the U.S. is willing to support as part of any G-8 commitment to combating global warming, Gibbs said: "The biggest thing . . . are the big steps that the House took only a week or so ago to put our country strongly on record as taking bold action against forces that are changing the temperature and the environment of our planet."
The House has narrowly passed a bill demanding caps on greenhouse gas that industry emits, enabling polluters to purchase the rights for emissions from others to encourage the development of alternative sources of energy, such as wind and solar power. The measure faces a battle in the Senate, however, with Republicans criticizing a plan that will add to the cost of household energy bills over time as a "national energy tax."
"There's important progress that we can make as a part of this in creating a market for clean energy jobs," Gibbs said. "So I think we've taken a strong step forward. ... Our biggest contribution to this is the steps that were taken by the House to put us strongly on record on this."
Asked how the administration will define success on climate change at the G-8 summit, Gibbs said, "In many ways, success for us is going to be getting something through Congress and to his desk that puts in place a system, a market-based system that lessens the amount of greenhouses gases in the air."
President Barack Obama landed earlier today in this earthquake-ravaged region of Italy for a summit of the Group of 8 nations as his aides voiced confidence that leaders would maintain their support for economic stimulus strategies in the face of a global recession and said the best commitment that the United States could make on climate change lies with energy legislation moving through Congress.
Obama, arriving in L'Aquila on a sun-drenched afternoon, was greeted by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the leaders of the other participating nations, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
L'Aquila was the site of a devastating earthquake in April that killed 300 people and crumbled historic buildings hundreds of years old. Obama was to tour the area with Berlusconi to survey the damage later in the day.
Earlier today, Obama stopped off in Rome to hold closed-door talks with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. After their meeting, Obama praised ties between Washington and Rome, calling Italy "a great friend" of the U.S.
Obama said the two nations were working together to strengthen oversight of financial institutions and were "working hand in hand in places like Afghanistan to ensure that we're isolating extremists and strengthening the forces of moderation around the world."
At his side, Napolitano said that the actions and initiatives of the first six months of the Obama administration "enjoyed a broad consensus in Italian public opinion." He also expressed hope that Europe would speak with one voice, to remain an influential force in world affairs.
Security has been heavily beefed up for the summit. Police officers were posted on nearly every bridge overlooking highways leading to L'Aquila, about 60 miles outside of Rome.
The Italian news agency ANSA reported that the nation's military had deployed 2,500 troops, Predator drone aircraft, a NATO spy plane and a Hawk missile battery to protect the leaders who will be both staying and working in L'Aquila through Friday.
Michael Froman, Obama's point man on the G-8 summit, said this morning that there is a "consensus view" among the nations' leaders that "we are still in the midst of an economic downturn," and that world leaders were not planning any mass exodus from their shared plan to stimulate recovery.
Leaders have said "it's time to prepare exit strategies," Froman said, "but not necessarily to put them into place yet."
World leaders gathered in L'Aquila for a noontime luncheon and then a series of meetings on issues ranging from the global economy to nuclear nonproliferation and food security.
Obama presided over a side meeting of the major economies with a focus on climate issues. That summit has suffered a setback with Chinese President Hu Jintao's return home to deal with deadly rioting in Xinjiang.
But White House officials said that meetings today and Thursday still can be productive, and Froman rebuffed suggestions that the Italian hosts had not put together an organized session. He denied reports that the U.S. had called an emergency meeting of the summit's "sherpas" to take charge of the session.
"The Italian presidency has done a terrific job preparing for the summit," Froman said. "The Italians defined an agenda early on and worked methodically" on it.
"The way the G-8 works," he said, is "we all do our part."
On the Chinese leader's departure, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said, "It's our understanding that he's gone back to China, so it appears as if he won't be there to meet with the president, but we will have a delegation meet with their delegation."
Asked about what the U.S. is willing to support as part of any G-8 commitment to combating global warming, Gibbs said: "The biggest thing . . . are the big steps that the House took only a week or so ago to put our country strongly on record as taking bold action against forces that are changing the temperature and the environment of our planet."
The House has narrowly passed a bill demanding caps on greenhouse gas that industry emits, enabling polluters to purchase the rights for emissions from others to encourage the development of alternative sources of energy, such as wind and solar power. The measure faces a battle in the Senate, however, with Republicans criticizing a plan that will add to the cost of household energy bills over time as a "national energy tax."
"There's important progress that we can make as a part of this in creating a market for clean energy jobs," Gibbs said. "So I think we've taken a strong step forward. ... Our biggest contribution to this is the steps that were taken by the House to put us strongly on record on this."
Asked how the administration will define success on climate change at the G-8 summit, Gibbs said, "In many ways, success for us is going to be getting something through Congress and to his desk that puts in place a system, a market-based system that lessens the amount of greenhouses gases in the air."
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