Barroso says G8 could have done more

GREEN WEEK: European commission president José Manuel Barroso says he would have liked to see stronger action against climate change at last week’s G8 summit.

“I would have liked more, but there was a lot of progress,” he said about the outcome of the Heiligendamm meeting.

Barroso’s comments came on 12 June as part of his opening speech to the Green Week conference – a yearly event organised by the European commission to highlight environmental issues.

“I believe the G8 leaders have crossed the Rubicon – it is no longer a matter of if we should act, but when and how. And when and how is becoming increasingly clear,” he added.

The Heiligendamm meeting saw leaders agree to “substantially” cut greenhouse gases in the fight against climate change and to launch talks on a post-Kyoto agreement at a UN meeting in Bali in December - but the leaders were criticised for failing to agree on binding targets to cut CO2.

But Barroso showed optimism, commenting that “when you think that just recently, some key partners disputed the mere existence of climate change, you see that we have made progress”.

“My personal opinion is that we are now in a much better position to go on with this process, trying to achieve global results by 2009,” he added.

“Important progress was achieved, but now we have a lot more work to do,” he cautioned.

Former UN environment chief Klaus Töpfer, who also attended the Green Week opening session, was more critical of the meeting.

“The G8 outcome was the best we could have but unfortunately it was not what we need,” he said.

“Please do not sit back and say that the next meeting is in Bali. We need to work very hard in advance if we want to avoid disaster in Bali,” he told the Green Week delegates and attendees.

Meanwhile Jacqueline McGlade, the executive director of the European environment agency, argued that a key solution to pollution issues is a green tax for businesses.

“We have to gradually shift to taxes on environmental problems and pollution and inefficient use of resources; it will be the only way to force some parts of the industry to respond to environmental problems,” she said.

As for commission vice-president Margot Wallström, she said all cities should become carbon-neutral.

“The quest for a sustainable future will be lost or won in our cities,” she said.

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