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The leaders of the world's eight most powerful nations are meeting on Wednesday to hold the annual G8 summit which this year will focus on African poverty, climate change and the global economy. Thousands of protesters are gathering to demand ‘actions not words' near the Scottish hotel where the G8 leaders will meet. Police have warned the protesters that they will respond robustly to any violence. Host of the summit, British Prime Minister Tony Blair admits it will be "very difficult" to strike a deal on the problem of global warming as the US unlike the Europeans, insists there is no rush to take action and think that technological developments expected by 2040 would solve the problem. All G8 member countries except the US have signed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol which aims to cut emissions of carbon dioxide by 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12.  Reuters Police have warned the protesters that they will respond robustly to any violence at the summit. |  |
The Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown sought Tuesday to ensure that expectations don't get too high. "What Britain says is one thing," the chancellor of the exchequer told BBC radio. "What we can persuade the rest of the world to do together is what we will get as the outcome of Gleneagles." THE G8 LEADERS & WHAT THEY WANT Tony Blair: The British prime minister is hosting the summit. Blair has put Africa, climate change and the global economy at the top of his G8 agenda. Paul Martin: The Canadian prime minister has said he'll push US President George W. Bush on climate change, and call on his fellow leaders to do their part to help Africa. Jacques Chirac: The French president will be focusing on climate change and thinks that leaders will come to an agreement. Gerhard Schroeder: The German chancellor will call for a harmonization of rules to control hedge funds at the summit. Silvio Berlusconi: The Italian prime minister is supportive of Blair's Africa initiative but has said that ways to provide increased assistance will have to be determined through negotiations. Junichiro Koizumi: Japan's prime minister is determined to use every opportunity to push two issues that are of paramount importance to Japan's foreign policy - North Korea and the United Nations. Vladimir Putin: The Russian president will back Tony Blair on African poverty and climate issues. George W. Bush: The president of the United States has said he would not back a Kyoto-style treaty.
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