L'Aquila G8 Summit: What did it achieve ?
Stopping climate change -- a far cry.Photo: AFP
Mahmood Hasan
SINCE the last G8 Summit at Hokkaido, Japan in June 2008, the world economic and financial situation has grown from a "slowdown" into a full-blown crisis. The club of the eight major industrial countries met for its 35th Annual Summit in L'Aquila, Italy from 8-10 July 2009. It may be recalled that in April this year an earthquake, which killed nearly 300 people, hit this small central Italian town. The venue for the Summit was apparently selected as a mark of solidarity with the people of L'Aquila.
Italy currently holds the G8 Presidency. Apart from the G8 members (Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, UK, USA, Russia), the group known as G5 (China, India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa) was also invited to participate in some of the sessions. An assortment of 15 countries was specially invited, as were 9 International Organisations.
The Summit came at a time when the world is still smarting under the weight of severe economic and financial crisis, in which many financial institutions and big business firms in the developed world have collapsed. It also came in the backdrop of the G20 Summit in London in April last, held specifically to address global economic turmoil. The rich nations during that Summit committed $1.1 trillion to save the world financial system.
Silvio Berlusconi, Italian Prime Minister and President of the Summit summed up the main issues of the meeting as: new ground rules to tackle economic crisis; boost international trade; restore confidence of people (to consume more); climate change; development of poor countries and Africa; food security; and international political issues.
After three days of negotiations the leaders produced seven declarations and statements on: Responsible leadership for a sustainable future; Political Issues; Promoting the Global agenda; Counter Terrorism; Energy and Climate; G8-Africa partnership on Water and Sanitation and Global Food Security.
Under the political issues the leaders have expressed dismay at the post-election violence in Iran. On its nuclear ambitions the Summit -- "strongly urged Iran to cooperate fully with IAEA and comply with the relevant UNSG Resolutions without further delay." The Summit condemned North Korea in the strongest terms for its nuclear test in May and launching of ballistic missiles in April this year.
Referring to President Obama's speech in Cairo, the Summit reiterated its full support for the two-state solution of Palestinian-Israeli conflict and hoped that the process of negotiations would be quickened to establish peace in the entire region. The leaders agreed that stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan remains top priority for the G8. On Myanmar the leaders expressed their indignation that the military junta has failed to make any progress in their meeting with the UN Secretary General earlier this month. The leaders called for the release of all political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi and to make the 2010 elections credible.
Declarations and Statements are actually negotiated and decided upon at the series of Ministerial meetings held prior to Summits. The negotiation that actually took place during the Summit was on energy and climate -- an issue of grave importance for the planet. The crucial sentences of the statement read: "We recognise the scientific view that the increase in global average temperature above pre-industrial levels ought not to exceed 2 degrees C. In this regard and in the context of the ultimate objective of the (UN) Convention and the Bali Action Plan, we will work between now and Copenhagen ... for substantially reducing global emissions by 2050."
President Barak Obama, hoping to unite the G8 and G5, chaired the session of MEF, which is responsible for almost 80% of evil emissions globally. G8 for the first time agreed on specific emission reduction goals and agreed to finance and transfer green technologies to the developing countries.
The industrial nations also agreed to reduce their emissions by 80% by 2050. G5 wanted the developed countries to reduce their dreadful emissions by at least 40% by 2020. The argument was that without immediate restraints on emissions in the short-run, the world climate might drift towards irreversible damage. The effects of global warming are already being felt in many parts of the world. While some countries are experiencing shortages of water (e.g. Sub-Sahara), others are threatened with floods and sea level rise. (e.g. Bangladesh, Maldives).
The UN Secretary General criticised the Statement saying it ought to have fixed a short-term target for 2020. Others have welcomed the statement because the US, which was so far opposed to any climate deal, is now onboard. Also now that the G8 countries have made a commitment, it will probably make negotiations easier at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held in Copenhagen in December this year.
The G8 Leaders have also agreed to achieve sustainable global food security. It has committed $ 20 billion over the next three years to help food-insecure countries grow more food. For the first time emphasis has been laid on growing more food than on emergency food supplies to distressed countries.
Future Summit Format
Even with stiff economic competition the continued growth of G5 and other developing countries over the decades, have made them into a force to be reckoned with. It is evident now that it is becoming increasingly difficult for G8 leaders to resolve common global challenges, such as -- economic crisis, climate change, ensuring free trade, food security etc, all by themselves. The G8 indeed needs the support and assistance of the developing countries to achieve progress.
The G5 leaders were invited by G8 leaders not as full members, but as leaders on the sidelines, which the G5 resented. They want to be treated as full partners. There was a time when the G8 countries had set the agenda for the rest of the world. With the emergence of economically and militarily strong nations -- the G8 is now obliged to open its door to new entrants.
The first instance of the G8 enlarging into G14 (G8 plus G5 plus Egypt) came when the declaration for "Promoting the Global Agenda" was signed on 9 July. A new acronym was used MEF (Major Economies Forum).
With the waning of influence of the United Nations over world affairs -- Groups such as G8, G14, G15, G20 will probably become more and more relevant. It would however be wrong to presume that G8 will fade away. What is more likely to happen is that we shall probably see more "G" summits in the days to come. But we have to remember that larger the format becomes the more arguments it will stir up and more impotent it would tend to become.
In spite of the gaffes of playboy Silvio Berlusconi, the achievements of the L'Aquila Summit cannot be rubbished as worthless. The Declaration on Climate is indeed a step in the right direction. Such Summits do contribute some goods, though not all that are promised are always implemented to the expectations of many.
Mahmood Hasan is a Former Ambassador and Secretary.
Italy currently holds the G8 Presidency. Apart from the G8 members (Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, UK, USA, Russia), the group known as G5 (China, India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa) was also invited to participate in some of the sessions. An assortment of 15 countries was specially invited, as were 9 International Organisations.
The Summit came at a time when the world is still smarting under the weight of severe economic and financial crisis, in which many financial institutions and big business firms in the developed world have collapsed. It also came in the backdrop of the G20 Summit in London in April last, held specifically to address global economic turmoil. The rich nations during that Summit committed $1.1 trillion to save the world financial system.
Silvio Berlusconi, Italian Prime Minister and President of the Summit summed up the main issues of the meeting as: new ground rules to tackle economic crisis; boost international trade; restore confidence of people (to consume more); climate change; development of poor countries and Africa; food security; and international political issues.
After three days of negotiations the leaders produced seven declarations and statements on: Responsible leadership for a sustainable future; Political Issues; Promoting the Global agenda; Counter Terrorism; Energy and Climate; G8-Africa partnership on Water and Sanitation and Global Food Security.
Under the political issues the leaders have expressed dismay at the post-election violence in Iran. On its nuclear ambitions the Summit -- "strongly urged Iran to cooperate fully with IAEA and comply with the relevant UNSG Resolutions without further delay." The Summit condemned North Korea in the strongest terms for its nuclear test in May and launching of ballistic missiles in April this year.
Referring to President Obama's speech in Cairo, the Summit reiterated its full support for the two-state solution of Palestinian-Israeli conflict and hoped that the process of negotiations would be quickened to establish peace in the entire region. The leaders agreed that stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan remains top priority for the G8. On Myanmar the leaders expressed their indignation that the military junta has failed to make any progress in their meeting with the UN Secretary General earlier this month. The leaders called for the release of all political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi and to make the 2010 elections credible.
Declarations and Statements are actually negotiated and decided upon at the series of Ministerial meetings held prior to Summits. The negotiation that actually took place during the Summit was on energy and climate -- an issue of grave importance for the planet. The crucial sentences of the statement read: "We recognise the scientific view that the increase in global average temperature above pre-industrial levels ought not to exceed 2 degrees C. In this regard and in the context of the ultimate objective of the (UN) Convention and the Bali Action Plan, we will work between now and Copenhagen ... for substantially reducing global emissions by 2050."
President Barak Obama, hoping to unite the G8 and G5, chaired the session of MEF, which is responsible for almost 80% of evil emissions globally. G8 for the first time agreed on specific emission reduction goals and agreed to finance and transfer green technologies to the developing countries.
The industrial nations also agreed to reduce their emissions by 80% by 2050. G5 wanted the developed countries to reduce their dreadful emissions by at least 40% by 2020. The argument was that without immediate restraints on emissions in the short-run, the world climate might drift towards irreversible damage. The effects of global warming are already being felt in many parts of the world. While some countries are experiencing shortages of water (e.g. Sub-Sahara), others are threatened with floods and sea level rise. (e.g. Bangladesh, Maldives).
The UN Secretary General criticised the Statement saying it ought to have fixed a short-term target for 2020. Others have welcomed the statement because the US, which was so far opposed to any climate deal, is now onboard. Also now that the G8 countries have made a commitment, it will probably make negotiations easier at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held in Copenhagen in December this year.
The G8 Leaders have also agreed to achieve sustainable global food security. It has committed $ 20 billion over the next three years to help food-insecure countries grow more food. For the first time emphasis has been laid on growing more food than on emergency food supplies to distressed countries.
Future Summit Format
Even with stiff economic competition the continued growth of G5 and other developing countries over the decades, have made them into a force to be reckoned with. It is evident now that it is becoming increasingly difficult for G8 leaders to resolve common global challenges, such as -- economic crisis, climate change, ensuring free trade, food security etc, all by themselves. The G8 indeed needs the support and assistance of the developing countries to achieve progress.
The G5 leaders were invited by G8 leaders not as full members, but as leaders on the sidelines, which the G5 resented. They want to be treated as full partners. There was a time when the G8 countries had set the agenda for the rest of the world. With the emergence of economically and militarily strong nations -- the G8 is now obliged to open its door to new entrants.
The first instance of the G8 enlarging into G14 (G8 plus G5 plus Egypt) came when the declaration for "Promoting the Global Agenda" was signed on 9 July. A new acronym was used MEF (Major Economies Forum).
With the waning of influence of the United Nations over world affairs -- Groups such as G8, G14, G15, G20 will probably become more and more relevant. It would however be wrong to presume that G8 will fade away. What is more likely to happen is that we shall probably see more "G" summits in the days to come. But we have to remember that larger the format becomes the more arguments it will stir up and more impotent it would tend to become.
In spite of the gaffes of playboy Silvio Berlusconi, the achievements of the L'Aquila Summit cannot be rubbished as worthless. The Declaration on Climate is indeed a step in the right direction. Such Summits do contribute some goods, though not all that are promised are always implemented to the expectations of many.
Mahmood Hasan is a Former Ambassador and Secretary.
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