G8 Summit Won't Yield New Climate Deal

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The Group of Eight summit in Germany in June is unlikely to yield a new accord on tackling global warming but could launch the process of finding a follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol, Deputy German Economy Minister Bernd Pfaffenbach said on Wednesday.

BERLIN -- The Group of Eight summit in Germany in June is unlikely to yield a new accord on tackling global warming but could launch the process of finding a follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol, Deputy German Economy Minister Bernd Pfaffenbach said on Wednesday.


Pfaffenbach, who is the top German official responsible for preparing the summit in Heiligendamm, also said he was optimistic an agreement that could break the deadlock in global trade negotiations could be struck before the June 6-8 meeting.


Asked about the possibility of a new agreement on global warming at the summit, he told Reuters in an interview: "It would be too much to demand from G8 leaders that they leave the meeting room with a new accord on climate protection."


"What is possible, but also will be difficult enough, might be mapping the path a new, post-Kyoto accord might have to follow," he said.


Pfaffenbach said he had been encouraged by recent signs of flexibility from the United States, which pulled out of Kyoto in 2001 saying it wrongly excluded China, India, South Africa and Brazil. Those countries have been invited to the G8 summit.


"If you include the U.S. approach, which is more focused on technology, and try to build a bridge between that and what we are pushing for, then that would be a very valuable effort," he said.


TRADE DEAL?


Pfaffenbach said a global trade deal in the next few months was crucial because the Bush administration's trade negotiating powers expired in June.


"I am optimistic about the possibility of an accord before" the summit, he said.


"It would be counterproductive to say today that this will be an issue at the G8 summit as that would show a lack of confidence in the current talks, which incidentally is not warranted," he added.


"Should it not be possible to strike a deal then of course it will be a very prominent issue in Heiligendamm."


Despite pressure from some leftist politicians in Germany, G8 leaders would not be pushing for tighter regulation for hedge funds but instead would be looking for ways of increasing the amount of information available on money flows.


"We should not be too ambitious in looking for regulation on this issue," Pfaffenbach said, noting that it was an extremely sensitive issue in the United States and Britain.


"Due to the enormous sums of money involved, for us it's about avoiding, or at least limiting, systemic risk," he added. "We are therefore pushing for more transparency. How far we get we'll have to see."


As one of the so-called "outreach" nations invited to the summit, China would not be subject to a grilling over its record on issues such as currency flexibility, environmental protection and intellectual property rights, Pfaffenbach said.


"China is an issue that stimulates a lot of discussion in the G8 but one thing should not and will not happen," he said.


"There will be no China bashing. For us, it's about a dialogue and it cannot be concluded during a meeting around the table of our heads of state and government. There must be a structured dialogue that follows and will be lasting."


Source: Reuters


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