Progress On Climate Change at G8, But More Talk Than Real Actions

Today, President Obama will chair the key talks on climate change between the G8 nations and the leaders of emerging countries such as India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and China.

As America is finally getting on board with Europe on this critical issue, President Obama and the other G8 leaders will have an uphill battle in convincing fast developing economies  such as India and China of the urgency in the matter. Both, India and China have concerns that limiting carbon emissions would curtail their economic growth, especially in the context of a global recession.

Yesterday, the G8 announced that it had reached an agreement to cap carbon emissions and minimize global warming. It would try to limit temperature rise by 2 degree Celsius; according to a study by the UN and one by Oxfam a rise of more than 2C (3.6 F) would make the planet climate “dangerously unstable.” As far as carbon emissions, the agreement recommend a cut of 80% by 2050 for rich nations and 50% by 2050 for developing economies.

However, it will turn out to be almost impossible to enforce due to the lack of any real requirements, possibility of enforcements and not setting up benchmarks between now & 2050. Such organizations as Oxfam were “puzzled” by the lack of real bite and the fact  that enforcing the agreement will be almost impossible, considering that it is non-binding. Oxfam thinks it is a miss opportunity in preparation of the UN climate change meeting set for December.

The agreement  is definitely a move in the right direction, but  the lack of tools to enforce it could  make it a futile exercise unless both the rich countries and the developing economies start making the issue an absolute top priority and view it  as the biggest existential  threat for the future of the planet.