FACT SHEET: G8 For Dummies

2007 G8 SUMMIT : “Growth and Responsibility”

What is the G8?

The G8 stands for the ‘Group of Eight,’ which is made up of powerful nations that collectively represent two-thirds of the global economy: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States . It was initiated as the G6 in 1975 by the President of France, who brought together leaders from the U.S., UK, Germany, Japan and Italy to discuss the global issues of the day. Since then, it has grown to eight members and has become an informal, but well-established, group that meets every year to form a common agenda for tackling the world’s most formidable challenges. It is not a legal body and has no formal rules or procedures. The G8 presidency rotates on an annual basis, with the president traditionally setting the agenda for the summit. This year, Germany holds the G8 presidency, and the summit will be help June 6-8 in Heiligendamm in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on Germany’s Baltic Sea .

Why is the G8 important?

In today’s interconnected world, threats are not confined to national borders and require national, regional and global approaches to solve problems. The G8 Summits provide a forum for the leaders of some of the world’s most powerful countries to meet and discuss how to work together on issues such as terrorism, non-proliferation, poverty, disease, trade, and climate change. In recent years, other regional powers, such as China, India, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico have also been invited to participate in parts of the Summit . International Institutions, such as the World Bank, the U.N. and the I.M.F., are also represented in the discussions. These additional voices at the table provide an important opportunity to make significant progress towards overcoming global challenges.

What is on the G8 agenda for this year?

- Climate Change: Getting Negotiations Back on Track -

In the lead-up to the G8 summit, climate change has overshadowed the other issues on the agenda, as the U.S. has clashed with its German hosts and other G8 members over how to tackle global warming. At the center of this clash is a conflict over a proposed global warming target, identified by scientists as the Earth’s “climate tipping point.”

Scientists agree that global warming of more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) is likely to trigger uncontrollable climate change, which would be nearly impossible to halt and would destroy lives and livelihoods across the globe. The majority of G8 members have embraced Germany ’s proposal that the G8 commit to curbing greenhouse gas pollution enough to keep us on the safe side of this tipping point. Scientists estimate that achieving the “2 degree target” will require reducing global greenhouse gas emissions reductions to 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, at a minimum.

Unfortunately, the U.S. has opposed the German proposal and sought to water down the G8’s commitment to curbing global warming. + Read leaked G8 communique with U.S. comments

With the landmark Kyoto Protocol set to expire in 2012, this is a critical time in international efforts to curb global warming. If the international community is to avoid crossing the two degree threshold, a new agreement governing greenhouse gas emissions is urgently needed. In December, nations will meet in Bali to start negotiating a new climate agreement.

A strong commitment to cut greenhouse gases coming out of the G8 would significantly strengthen the likelihood that these negotiations will yield results. On the other hand, continued U.S. opposition will signal that the U.S. is still not ready to engage in meaningful negotiations. That, in turn, is likely to stall the next round of global efforts on climate change.

- Increasing aid to Africa -

Of the 20 poorest countries in the world, 18 are in Africa . At the 2005 G8 summit in Gleneagles, G8 members pledged to double their efforts to help African nations lift themselves out of poverty by 2010.

Two new reports, one by the advocacy group DATA, and one by Oxfam International, show that the G8 countries have fallen behind in honoring their commitments. According to the report, the U.S. is one of seven countries that has done less than half of what it promised to do. In fact, in 2006, aid to Africa actually declined for the first time in many years. This year’s discussions will focus both on evaluating progress on past goals, as well as setting new ones, in order to end the scourge of extreme poverty.

- Investing in Debt relief -

Another item at the forefront of this year’s agenda is investing in debt relief. Many poor countries spend more paying off interest on old loans from foreign governments and banks than on health and education for their own people.

Canceling loans for countries that are committed to good policies and responsible governance can make a huge difference. For example, $3 billion in debt relief is helping Tanzania send 1.6 million children to school. Its neighbor, Uganda , used the money it saved through debt relief to make primary education free for every child, which it couldn’t afford before.

At Gleneagles in 2005, G8 countries agreed to write off US$40 billion worth of debt owed by 18 Highly Indebted Poor Countries, and to consider expanding an additional $20 billion in debt relief to twenty more countries if they met governance and accountability targets. This year, G8 members will discuss further debt cancellation opportunities. With more resources at their disposal, millions of Africans could be provided the right mix of tools and resources to invest in education, health care, jobs, businesses and economic stability.

As G8 leaders meet to discuss new commitments to debt cancellation, they should keep in mind that debt cancellation is not, and should not be treated as, a substitute for development assistance. Since Gleneagles, some countries have increased their commitments to debt cancellation on the one hand, while cutting development assistance with the other. This charade leaves overall support for fighting poverty unchanged, or even reduced, with tragic results.

G8 Summit Homepage

How is Citizens for Global Solutions Engaged?

Citizens for Global Solutions recently joined with a number of environment, development and faith organizations to call on the administration to support the proposed “two degree goal” for global warming at the G8 summit. In a letter to the U.S. Sherpa (the U.S. representative at the G8 summit), the groups expressed concern that not enough attention is being paid to the drastic impacts that a changing climate will have on developing countries. In addition to supporting the two degree goal, the groups called on the G8 to pay greater attention to the need for wealthy nations to take responsibility for helping developing countries deal with the effects of climate change.

Read the Letter

Our Key Recommendations:

• The Bush Administration should support the global warming targets proposed by Germany , and actively engage with the international community to develop a long-term, comprehensive strategy on climate change.

• The United States should meet its commitment to double Official Development Assistance (ODA) by 2010 in order to support achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

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