Bush sinks hopes for a climate deal

George Bush dashed hopes of a G8 victory for the Prime Minister by standing firm against European appeals for a global agreement to cap greenhouse gas emissions
12 April 2012

Tony Blair faced humiliation at the hands of George Bush after the White House rejected calls for a landmark deal on climate change.

The U.S. president dashed hopes of a G8 victory for the Prime Minister by standing firm against European appeals for a global agreement to cap greenhouse gas emissions.

With the summit by the Baltic barely under way, Mr Blair's policy of standing "shoulder to shoulder" with Mr Bush appeared to have gained little.

The talks were set to be overshadowed by failure on climate change and diplomatic clashes with Russia.

Downing Street claimed Mr Bush's announcement last week that the U.S. now accepted the need for international action to halt global warming was a major breakthrough.

But Government sources said the White House's refusal to put a figure on how much carbon should be cut was "politically disastrous".

Britain has thrown its weight behind an EU demand - led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel -for the G8 to set a target of a 50 per cent cut in global emissions by 2050.

Mr Blair vowed to press ahead with last-minute negotiations aimed at winning American agreement on the target. But it appeared last night that the White House had effectively scuppered a deal before the summit got under way.

With Washington pouring cold water on the scheme, Downing Street was left struggling to put a brave face on what campaigners will claim is a summit failure.

Mr Bush's senior climate adviser said that a number of countries - including the U.S. - would not sign up to a figure limiting emissions.

James Connaughton said there had been progress on the issue of climate change but insisted the U.S. did not believe the G8 should be the forum for setting targets.

"There is significant agreement that those should be established on a national basis, and the only area of disagreement is that the G8 should dictate the national policies of its members," he said.

Mr Blair's official spokesman said: "We are still very much in favour of a target.

"We believe a target is right and we are aiming to get a target."

Representatives of the so-called "plus five" countries - South Africa, China, India, Brazil and Mexico - are also at Heiligendamm.

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