G8 leaders reached a new agreement on climate change yesterday at the Germany summit, although, as expected, the US did not agree to any binding emissions reduction targets. Leaders from the EU, Japan and Canada agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions 50 pct by 2050 - although the agreement does not specify a benchmark, while the US and Russia have pledged to participate in UN talks to find a successor to the Kyoto protocol, but failed to commit to any GHG emission reductions. The text adopted at the summit states that the G8 members "are committed to moving forward" with UN talks, and "call on all parties to actively and constructively participate in the UN Climate Change Conference in Indonesia in December with a view to achieving a comprehensive post-2012 agreement (post-Kyoto agreement) that should include all major emitters" - this would include the US and China.
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