Paul Brown, Patrick Wintour and Michael White
Saturday May 28, 2005
The Guardian


The draft, which Downing Street said was only work in progress and was being improved, spells out the danger of inaction to combat global warming. It says: "If we miss this opportunity and fail to give a clear sense of direction, then we will be locked into an unsustainable future that will threaten our long-term security and prosperity.

"The world's developed economies have a responsibility to lead this agenda, and to work in partnership with the developing world to support strong and sustainable economic growth. The G8 therefore pledge to take action to promote a fundamental step change in the way we produce and use energy."

But the 2,000-word text for the July 6 summit at Gleneagles was denounced yesterday by environmental groups for lacking substance.
It was described by Greenpeace as "a mush of warm words carefully crafted by civil servants to make sure no one is committed to anything".
The leak came as Margaret Beckett, the environment secretary, appealed to the US to accept overwhelming scientific evidence that climate change was happening and manmade.
In an interview with the Guardian she said: "We think the science is incontrovertible. We want that understanding to be widened and deepened." She said that President George Bush had yet to endorse the report on climate change that he commissioned from his own National Academy of Sciences.
"The report is there, and they said 'yes this is real'. Those who argue against the science are fewer and fewer in the number and treated with less and less respect."
Greenpeace's spokesman, Blake Lee-Harwood, said the communique would cause "bitter disappointment" because it showed little sign of concrete action. He said: "This whole document falls short of the urgency needed for what the prime minister has called the greatest threat to mankind."
Catherine Pearce, Friends of the Earth's international climate campaigner, said: "The alarm bells on climate change are ringing, but the world's richest nations aren't listening. President Bush is continuing to block attempts by Tony Blair for any meaningful international action on climate change. Fine words are not enough. G8 countries represent just 13% of the world's population, but account for 45% of greenhouse gas emissions."
Reflecting concern about the impact of aviation growth on climate change, the G8 is to set up a commission to study its effects. The leaked draft also promises a fund to support a market in sustainable energy in developing countries.
The text gives examples of action taken to combat climate change including an EU directive which lays down requirements for minimum standards for energy performance in buildings.
No 10 said the draft was three weeks old and progress had been made in the interim. A final judgment should be made after the summit.
The main British goal for the summit is to draw the US into multilateral discussions on cutting emissions after the present Kyoto agreement expires in 2012. The US boycotted Kyoto for what Mrs Beckett described as inconsistent reasons. "If there were flaws in the Kyoto process, what would be a better one? That is the question the US must answer," she said.
"The US administration is doing more than people give them credit in terms of new technology investment, such as carbon sequestration, and also in aiming to reduce their emissions intensity in relation to its GDP. But the question is is that enough?" She said the general feeling in the world community was "no".
Mrs Beckett also wants to use the British presidency of the EU to reach agreements with China on its energy policy, including help with clean coal technology. China is the second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after the US.
Mrs Beckett also hinted that there would be no early decision on the commissioning of new domestic nuclear power stations, pointing out that nuclear could not be the solution to meeting Britain's goal of cutting emissions by 20% by 2010 from 1990 levels.

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