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G8 leaders agree to climate deal G8 leaders agree to climate deal
(about 2 hours later)
Leaders of the G8 nations have agreed to a compromise deal on tackling climate change, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said. Leaders of the G8 nations have agreed to seek "substantial" cuts in emissions in an effort to tackle climate change.
"We agreed... that CO2 emissions must first be stopped and then followed by substantial reductions," she said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the G8 would negotiate within a UN framework to seek a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol by the end of 2009.
Reports said the leaders had agreed to hold talks on a replacement to the Kyoto Protocol within a UN framework. No mandatory target was set for the cuts, but Mrs Merkel's preference for a 50% emissions cut by the year 2050 was included in the agreed statement.
Mrs Merkel had been pushing for a 50% cut in emissions by 2050. The US had resisted calls for targets to be fixed. Developing nations should also cut emissions, the leaders agreed.
Global greenhouse gas emissions must stop rising, followed by substantial global emission reductions G8 statement class="" href="/1/hi/sci/tech/6322083.stm">Climate change: In graphics She said G8 leaders had agreed to consider her target, but there was no suggestion that a final agreement would include any mandatory commitment to major emissions cuts. Elsewhere at the summit, US President George W Bush met Russian President Vladimir Putin against a backdrop of disagreements over US plans for missile defence.
Mr Bush said the pair had had a "constructive" meeting, in which Mr Putin suggested using a radar station in Azerbaijan instead of facilities elsewhere in Europe.
Turning the tide
Announcing the climate change deal, Mrs Merkel described it as a "significant and important step forward".
"We agreed... that CO2 emissions must first be stopped and then followed by substantial reductions," the German chancellor said.
Global greenhouse gas emissions must stop rising, followed by substantial global emission reductions G8 statement Climate change: In graphics Her preferred benchmark of 50% cuts by 2050 - backed by the EU, Canada and Japan - would be given serious consideration, she said.
According to an extract from the agreed text published on the G8 website, the leaders agreed to take "strong and early" action.According to an extract from the agreed text published on the G8 website, the leaders agreed to take "strong and early" action.
"Taking into account the scientific knowledge as represented in the recent IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] reports, global greenhouse gas emissions must stop rising, followed by substantial global emission reductions," the text says."Taking into account the scientific knowledge as represented in the recent IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] reports, global greenhouse gas emissions must stop rising, followed by substantial global emission reductions," the text says.
Yvo de Boer, head of the UN's climate change division, quickly welcomed the agreement.
He told the Reuters news agency the deal augured well for a meeting to discuss a post-Kyoto consensus scheduled for Bali in December.
Blair optimisticBlair optimistic
The German chancellor has portrayed the deal as a major success. The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus, in Heiligendamm, says Mrs Merkel has crafted a compromise while appearing not to have abandoned her principles.
But the BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Robbins, in Heiligendamm, says the precise wording of today's agreement will be picked over by critics and environmental campaigners. I'm both surprised and very pleased at how far we have come forward Tony Blair Ahead of the meeting President Bush proposed the establishment of his own process of climate control negotiations.
I'm both surprised and very pleased at how far we have come forward Tony BlairBritish Prime Minister Ahead of the meeting US President George W Bush proposed the establishment of his own process of climate control negotiations. The compromise appears to bring Mr Bush's plan into the wider UN-brokered process - something the US had previously resisted, saying it would not even discuss a post-Kyoto deal.
The compromise appears to bring Mr Bush's plan into the wider UN-brokered process - something the US had previously resisted. But changing diplomatic chemistry and an evolving debate on climate change back in the US forced the president to give ground, our correspondent says.
Speaking to reporters, British Prime Minister Tony Blair deflected concerns about the absence of a precise definition of the term "substantial cuts". Speaking to reporters in Heiligendamm, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair deflected concerns about the absence of a precise definition of the term "substantial cuts".
"I'm both surprised and very pleased at how far we have come forward in the couple of years since [the 2005 G8 summit at] Gleneagles," he told reporters."I'm both surprised and very pleased at how far we have come forward in the couple of years since [the 2005 G8 summit at] Gleneagles," he told reporters.
"Now we have an agreement that there will be a climate change deal, it will involve everyone, including the US and China, and it will involve substantial cuts.""Now we have an agreement that there will be a climate change deal, it will involve everyone, including the US and China, and it will involve substantial cuts."
Missile proposal
Climate change had been one of several themes dominating the build-up to the summit.
Meanwhile, Mr Bush has met Russian President Vladimir Putin against a backdrop of disagreements over US plans for missile defence.
Mr Bush said the pair had a "constructive" meeting, in which Mr Putin suggested using a radar station in Azerbaijan instead of facilities elsewhere in Europe.
Earlier, Mr Bush said the row over a missile defence shield was "nothing we ought to be hyperventilating about".