Blair and Bush push for post-Kyoto 'consensus'

The future of the Kyoto Protocol is in doubt after Tony Blair and George W Bush sidelined the agreement in favour of a “better way forward” on global climate change at G8 talks in Gleneagles in Scotland.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the leaders of the world’s wealthiest nations that it was pointless going over old ground about the merits of the Kyoto protocol.

Blair called for a more inclusive “consensus” to tackle greenhouse gas emissions after the initial phase of the protocol ends in 2012.

“There’s no point in going back over the Kyoto debate…that is an argument that has been, we cannot resolve that.  We have to move into consensus post-Kyoto,” said Blair at a Thursday morning press conference.

Earlier, President Bush had acknowledged that the Earth was warming up and that CO2 emissions were partly responsible for temperature increase.

But the president questioned the practicality of the Kyoto agreement which excludes heavily polluting developing countries such as India and China.

“Now is the time to get beyond the Kyoto period and develop a strategy forward that is inclusive of the developing nations,” said Bush, adding that the world must find a “better way forward.”

The United States has repeatedly rejected the science behind the Kyoto protocol arguing persistently that signing up to the agreement would seriously damage the US economy.

Bush said that the US was more than happy to look at alternative measures for combating climate change.

“I strongly believe that technology and the proper use of technology will enable the world to grow our economies and at the same time be wiser about how we protect the environment.”

And Tony Blair, also under pressure to achieve a positive result on tackling the problems of Africa, said he hoped the Scottish gathering would meet the “reasonable expectations” of campaigners.

Earlier, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso pledged an extra €300 million in EU aid to help build roads and waterways in the world's poorest countries.

But he remained pessimistic about the G8 reaching a comprehensive deal on poverty and climate change.

“It is what we want, but I believe it will not be possible”, he said on wednesday.

The UK has mounted its largest ever security operation for the summit involving 10,000 police officers, several helicopters and a spy plane.

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