July 2008 G8 Summit in Hokkaido, Japan -
Criticized for Lack of Climate Change Progress

Visit July 2008 G8 Summit in Hokkaido, Japan website

Climate change and the environment were main themes of the meeting but leaders were widely criticized for failing to deepen their commitments to greenhouse gas reductions with mid term targets and identification of a baseline year, like 1990 for the Kyoto Protocol.

View July 9, 2008 Chair's Summary for the 2008 G8 Summit in Hokkaido, Japan

The G8 leaders called for a global reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2050, but didn't specify a base year (for example, 50% of 1990 emission levels or 50% of 2008 emissions).

The head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, Yvo de Boer, who leads the UN's negotiations for a new climate change treaty starting in 2012, was critical of the lack of a baseline for the 50% reduction target, saying this lack left it open to vastly different interpretations. He also identified that the G8 said nothing about making that goal legally binding in a renewed UN Protocol.

Clare Demerse from the Pembina Institute commented, "Without a base year, we cannot be sure the G8 target is even aligned with what the science tells us we need to do in order to avoid dangerous climate change."

Mid-term emissions reductions targets (targets for 2020) were also absent from the G8's statements. "What I find lacking is any kind of language on where industrialized nations, G8 nations, want their emissions to be in 2020 and I think that is critical to making progress in the negotiations," said Yvo de Boer.

The Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change has suggested emissions need to be slashed to 25%-40% below 1990 levels within the next dozen years to avoid the worst impacts of climate change - such as rising sea levels, worse droughts and extinction of many species.

Environmentalists also argue that adopting midterm goals would provide business with clearer investment guidance and would encourage developing countries to join efforts to control pollution blamed for global warming.

Unsurprisingly, the developing countries refused to accept the G8's offer of vague long-term targets (50% reduction in GHG emissions by 2050 - but with not baseline year of reference) and instead, extended their own offer to the G8. The developing nations called on developed countries to take the lead in adopting deep emissions reductions targets but pledged that developing countries would take on quantitative emissions reductions compared to 'business as usual' as long as they were facilitated through financing and support for technology transfer by the developed nations.

• developed countries should take the lead with ambitious and absolute emission reductions of between 80% and 95% below 1990 levels by mid-century;
• quantified emission targets under the Kyoto Protocol toward the upper end of the range of 25% to 40% below 1990 levels by 2020 for all developed countries; and
• deviation from business-as-usual emission trajectories in developing countries, supported and enabled by technology and financing.

The G5 nations also noted that mid-term targets for developed countries should be "based on an equitable burden-sharing paradigm that reflects historical responsibility for the problem."

View July 9, 2008 statement from South African Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Climate Change discussions during G8 and Major Economies Meeting in Japan

• the need for 2020 targets for industrialized countries in the range of 25-40% below 1990 emissions levels;
• quantitative reductions compared to 'business as usual' in developing countries (in addition to the efforts already being made through developing countries' own initiatives), facilitated through measurable, reportable and verifiable financing and support for technology transfer to developing nations.

WWF Issues G8 Climate Scorecard, Position Paper
in Advance of 2008 G8 Summit

Each of the G8 countries were evaluated against twelve objective performance criteria, including greenhouse gas emission trends and progress made toward meeting Kyoto targets.

Canada scored seventh, just ahead of the United States, with very high emissions per capita compared to the average of industrialized countries. Alberta's highly energy-intensive tar sands extraction and processing also figured in the country's low score, as did the lack of sufficient provincial or federal regulations to reduce overall emissions, Canada's reluctance to comply with Kyoto targets, and a persistent trend of growing emissions.

On June 28, 2008, WWF released a position paper articulating its perspectives on what the 2008 G8 Summit in Japan ought to achieve on climate change policy.

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2005 G8 Summit

G8 Outcomes: G8 Climate Declaration and Action Plan