| by Silvia Marchetti ROME, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The Group of Eight (G8) environment ministers agreed on Friday to a series of measures on climate change, biodiversity, and the "green economy" at their final meeting in the Sicilian city of Siracusa, paving the way for approval by leaders at the annual G8 summit in July. Italian Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo, who hosted the meeting, said she was "extremely satisfied" with the outcome of the three-day meeting from Wednesday to Friday. "We have defined in a clear and frank manner the principles on which the heads of state will have to spend time at July's G8 (summit)," she said. Prestigiacomo said ministers had agreed on the need for "urgentactions" on climate change and had set out five issues to be thrashed out by G8 leaders: short and mid-term targets, long-term targets, comparison of efforts between countries, financing and international governance. The meeting was designed to forge consensus for a global deal on climate change in the post-Kyoto era. At the gathering, environment ministers from leading industrialized and developing nations discussed the issue of low-carbon technology, strategies against climate change, and how the fight against global warming can help revive the global economy. On Friday, the ministers signed the "Siracusa Charter" intended to slow the rate of species loss. Prestigiacomo said the ministers were "convinced" of the need to persuade heads of state to take urgent action to safeguard biodiversity, and had agreed there was a "need to redefine post-2010 biodiversity objectives immediately." The meeting's final outcome document also included points on the "green economy," which Prestigiacomo described as "a new sector that can open spaces on the market and create jobs." Regarding greenhouse gas emission, industrialized and emerging economies must reach an agreement on the issue and forge an alliance on the use of green technologies, she said. "Each single country must contribute to the reduction of gas emissions and a global deal is possible only if there is a general agreement," Prestigiacomo said. The meeting brought together countries responsible for more than 40 percent of the world's carbon gas emissions. The G8 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States. China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, South Africa, South Korea, Australia and Egypt were also invited. The final document on Friday will be forwarded to the G8 summit to be hosted by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in July. The results of the Siracusa forum also paves the way for the United Nations meeting in Copenhagen in December, which aims at sealing a global deal to limit greenhouse gas emissions. At the Siracusa meeting, great attention was also given to the role of the United States after President Barack Obama's new environmental approach raised hopes for reaching a global deal against climate change. Washington has acknowledged the need for a new CO2 emission regulation scheme. Next week a larger climate meeting will take place in Washington, where 17 nations will take part. Stefano Pogutz, environmental management professor at Bocconi University in Milan, hopes that the "new Obama administration will push for a global climate deal." "The United States should become the driver of a post-Kyoto era," he said. "Barack Obama's recent agreement with Mexico on renewable energies sets the right trend and there are high expectations for the international climate change summit in Washington." Carlo Andrea Bollino, economics professor at Rome's LUISS University, said that "Obama's new strategic vision is the real novelty of the Siracusa meeting. He promised that the United States will never again hinder global climate agreements like Kyoto and this is a big step forward." |