Originally published on the CGS blog on June 5, 2007.
Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8), a collection of nations that represent two-thirds of world’s economy, will meet in Germany this week to address a host of “global issues.” Members will discuss progress made on past commitments – especially those to address hunger, poverty and disease in sub-Saharan Africa — and embrace a common goal for curbing climate change. It’s critical that the U.S. play a constructive role in this process.
My colleague Becca will be closely monitoring the G-8 and its discusssions on climate change. Her unique insight on the meeting, which begins on Wednesday and runs through Friday, will be worthwhile tuning into.
As part of the pre-G-8 side show, President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been trading some pretty sharp rhetoric per President Bush’s desire to have a missile defense system placed on European soil. The two are supposed to meet briefly at the Summit in Germany; sort of a meet and greet as opposed to the early July holiday that Putin will take when he travels to Maine and spend time with President Bush and his father at the Bush family compound.
Various newspapers around the world have voiced very strong opinions in regards to the U.S.-Russian tensions. The Financial Times of London, in a very strong editorial today, lays most of the blame at the Russian leader’s feet:
No one else on the world stage today is quite like Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. The Russian president has become a past master at upstaging international meetings, sowing dissension in the west’s ranks and upping the stakes in an ever more acrimonious contest with the US.. Mr Putin should beware. His tactical mastery may help him outmanoeuvre the west on a day-to-day basis, but the enduring legacy of his cunning is likely to be a Europe and US that deeply distrust Russia.
The Times does however, also holds President Bush’s feet to the fire:
The US could take more steps to defuse the dispute, not least discussing whether it could cap the number of interceptors at the Polish site. But the main responsibility rests with Mr Putin.
Meanwhile The Denver Post , one of the more insightful editorial pages in the U.S., also picks up on the tension that precedes the G-8:
Bush’s plan could spark a battle over whether future efforts to combat global warming should require binding international commitments – probably a wise course – or simply allow the most polluting countries to set nonbinding “aspirational” goals, as Bush’s plan seems to suggest. Europe and Japan want stricter controls on greenhouse gases, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will chair the meeting, has put out a draft final communique that would commit G8 members to do their “fair share” to reach specific emissions goals by 2050. The United States needs to get on board.
The G-8 does provide our nation a great opportunity to work together with other countries. I agree with the assessment of The Denver Post that the U.S. needs to get on board. President Bush would be wise to not only heed the Post’s advice, but wake up and get with the program. Scientists recently agreed on the world’s climate “tipping point,” the point past which climate change is likely to spin out of control. Other G-8 members support establishing a common goal: avoid crossing this threshold. President Bush’s choice to oppose and distract from the goal, rather than embrace it, is counterproductive.
