Blair expects global warming plan at G8 summit

Leaders of the G8 richest nations will agree a plan for global action to tackle climate change at next month's summit at Gleneagles, Tony Blair has predicted.

The Prime Minister's optimism follows his talks with President George Bush at the White House yesterday.

Although the proposed agreement is unlikely to include new targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Mr Blair believes it could be more significant in the long term than the Kyoto Protocol.

His plan is to create a permanent forum to address the issue that would include the United States, the biggest contributor to global warming, and the fast-growing economies of China and India, all of whom were not covered by Kyoto.

The Chinese and Indian Governments will join the G8 discussion on climate change at the Gleneagles, which is also likely to agree further research into the problem.

Even though President Bush has refused to admit the growing body of scientific evidence about climate change, Mr Blair is convinced that America will sign up to a global effort.

In their talks in Washington, the two leaders discussed what the President dubbed "global change" that could reduce energy supplies and drive up the price of oil -- including a huge projected rise in the number of Chinese people who will own cars.

China is the world's fastest growing automobile market and, with a population of 1.3 billion, could become its biggest. More than two million cars were sold in the country in 2003, a rise of almost 80 per cent on the previous year.

Mr Blair also hopes that this week's joint statement by leading scientific academies in the G8 nations, including the US, will help to persuade President Bush to look again at the evidence about climate change.

However, the likely deal at Gleneagles will not go far enough for environmental groups unless it includes specific targets.

A spokeman for Greenpeace said: "Blair may as well have not bothered to cross the Atlantic. He calls climate change the gravest problem this planet faces but the response from George Bush is worse than pathetic. The Prime Minister has argued with grand rhetoric on climate change but President Bush is simply unwilling to deliver."

In the Commons yesterday, Mr Blair was tackled over the G8 scientists' report.

Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: "Without the US President on board, it is going to be impossible to achieve a consensus on these matters."

Mr Blair admitted: "The brutal truth is that, without America in a process of dialogue and action in the international community, we aren't going to make progress on it."

But he struck an upbeat note about the prospects of agreeing "a plan of action" at the G8 summit that would cover air travel as well as cars.

The Prime Minister told MPs: "The US administration is not suddenly going to change its position and sign up to Kyoto. On the other hand, although it is coming to this issue as much from the point of view of energy supply as climate change, there is an action plan that I can believe we can get agreement to at the G8 which will include specific measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

He said: "It's important, in addition, that we have some form of continuing process that locks in, not just the US, but those emerging countries, China and India in particular, without whom it is very difficult to see how we are going to make progress."

- INDEPENDENT