BEIJING, June 4 (Xinhuanet) -- German
Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Sunday
described President Bush's new initiative on global warming as "welcome" just
days before the G-8 summit, but made it clear it was not enough.
"A sensible analysis would say that it is good that
the United States has committed to being part of a global agreement," Blair said
at a press conference with Merkel in Berlin.
"However we then need to go further. We need to make
sure that we set a clear global target on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and
set out how we are going to meet that target."
Bush on Thursday proposed the 15 biggest emitters of
greenhouse gases hold meetings and set an emissions goal. But he would let each
country ¡ª including the U.S., China, India and the major European countries ¡ª
decide individually how to implement it.
"The U.S. initiatives on climate protections are very
welcome to us, under the condition that they are channeled into the framework of
the U.N. program," Merkel said.
Washington has strongly objected to plans by Merkel
to make the leaders of the industrialized world endorse a target of cutting
greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent compared to 1990 levels before 2050.
She is also seeking a commitment to holding global
temperature rises to 2 degrees Celsius by century's end.
Merkel will host Bush, Blair and other leaders of the
Group of Eight in a three-day summit beginning Wednesday in Heiligendamm,
Germany, and the final statement will be closely watched for how much agreement
can be achieved on measures to stem climate change.
The G-8 countries are the United States, Germany, Britain,
France, Italy, Russia, Canada, and Japan.
WASHINGTON, May 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W.
Bush unveiled a long-term strategy on climate change Thursday, urging 15 major
nations to set a global emission goal.
According to Bush's most sweeping proposal on the
issue to date, the United States will work with other nations to establish a new
framework on greenhouse gas emissions for when the Kyoto Protocol expires in
2012, though the United States never signed that agreement. Full story
BERLIN, May 31 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel
hailed Thursday an initiative by U.S. President George W Bush to backing limits
for greenhouse gas emissions.
She said that while she could make only a "brief
assessment," Bush's remarks were an "important step on the road" to the Group of
Eight (G8) summit on June 6-8 in the Baltic resort of Heiligendamm,
Germany. Full story
BERLIN, May 29 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel
vowed here Tuesday to press ahead for binding targets to combat global warming
before the summit of Group of Eight (G8) nations.
"We need multilateral agreements to deal on a global
basis with the challenges facing humanity," Merkel said after meeting visiting
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Full story
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