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Inflation threat on G8 agenda
Wednesday, 9 July, 2008
Displaced Kenyans wait for food at the Tigoni internally displaced persons (IDP) camp. The G8 summit will seek ways to reign in spiraling food and fuel prices. (Getty)
Rich nations and rising economic powers including China and India met to seek ways to rein in surging oil and food prices that are taking their toll on the global economy.
VIDEO: G8 talks
VIDEO: Green reaction to G8
RELATED: G8 leaders agree on halving emissions by 2050
IN DEPTH: Food and Fuel crisis
The meeting comes as China and India opposed a G8 goal to halve carbon emissions by 2050, according to a French presidential aide.
The leaders of the Group of Eight industrialised nations held an expanded summit in northern Japan with their counterparts from Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa to discuss the world's fragile economy.
The presence of the energy-thirsty emerging nations reflects a global economic landscape that has been transformed since the first informal summit of the world's richest countries was held in 1975 after the first oil shock.
Serious threat
The G8 nations -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States -- warned this week that oil and food prices "pose a serious challenge to stable growth worldwide".
But with the exception of Russia, the G8 does not include any major oil exporters, giving them little scope to cool red-hot oil prices, while most of the growth in energy demand is coming from booming emerging economies.
"It is difficult for us to solve problems without cooperating with countries concerned, especially those that have a big presence" in the global economy, said a Japanese foreign ministry official.
"Therefore, we would like to deepen dialogue with guest countries."
Oil prices have risen five-fold since 2003, hitting record heights close to 147 dollars a barrel last week.
Below the poverty line
Rising food prices meanwhile have pushed 100 million people below the poverty line, according to World Bank estimates, and have sparked protests and even riots in some parts of the world.
During talks in the Japanese spa resort of Toyako, the five emerging economies "expressed hope for further cooperation with the G8 on global issues, especially the food crisis," another Japanese official said.
They stressed the importance of cutting or abolishing agricultural subsidies in developed countries.
Some leaders expressed concern that "surging oil prices and the use of biofuel are both affecting the price of food," the official said.
"Some said surging oil prices increased fertiliser prices, which ultimately affect food prices."
Brazil, whose President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva joined the talks here, is the world's leading producer of ethanol, which is hailed by advocates for reducing emissions caused by fossil fuels.
But critics say ethanol's popularity has exacerbated a crisis of spiralling food prices by stepping up demand for edible crops.
Biofuel impact
The G8 rich nations on Tuesday agreed to explore ways to reduce the impact of biofuels on food prices and to accelerate development of second-generation biofuels made from the inedible parts of plants.
The major rich and developing nations agreed to work together for a long-term reduction of carbon emissions but failed to set any specific goals.
"Climate change is one of the great global challenges of our time," said a statement issued after a summit here with leaders of 16 nations including the United States, China and India.
Source: AFP/REUTERS/SBS
VIDEO: G8 talks
VIDEO: Green reaction to G8
RELATED: G8 leaders agree on halving emissions by 2050
IN DEPTH: Food and Fuel crisis
The meeting comes as China and India opposed a G8 goal to halve carbon emissions by 2050, according to a French presidential aide.
The leaders of the Group of Eight industrialised nations held an expanded summit in northern Japan with their counterparts from Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa to discuss the world's fragile economy.
The presence of the energy-thirsty emerging nations reflects a global economic landscape that has been transformed since the first informal summit of the world's richest countries was held in 1975 after the first oil shock.
Serious threat
The G8 nations -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States -- warned this week that oil and food prices "pose a serious challenge to stable growth worldwide".
But with the exception of Russia, the G8 does not include any major oil exporters, giving them little scope to cool red-hot oil prices, while most of the growth in energy demand is coming from booming emerging economies.
"It is difficult for us to solve problems without cooperating with countries concerned, especially those that have a big presence" in the global economy, said a Japanese foreign ministry official.
"Therefore, we would like to deepen dialogue with guest countries."
Oil prices have risen five-fold since 2003, hitting record heights close to 147 dollars a barrel last week.
Below the poverty line
Rising food prices meanwhile have pushed 100 million people below the poverty line, according to World Bank estimates, and have sparked protests and even riots in some parts of the world.
During talks in the Japanese spa resort of Toyako, the five emerging economies "expressed hope for further cooperation with the G8 on global issues, especially the food crisis," another Japanese official said.
They stressed the importance of cutting or abolishing agricultural subsidies in developed countries.
Some leaders expressed concern that "surging oil prices and the use of biofuel are both affecting the price of food," the official said.
"Some said surging oil prices increased fertiliser prices, which ultimately affect food prices."
Brazil, whose President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva joined the talks here, is the world's leading producer of ethanol, which is hailed by advocates for reducing emissions caused by fossil fuels.
But critics say ethanol's popularity has exacerbated a crisis of spiralling food prices by stepping up demand for edible crops.
Biofuel impact
The G8 rich nations on Tuesday agreed to explore ways to reduce the impact of biofuels on food prices and to accelerate development of second-generation biofuels made from the inedible parts of plants.
The major rich and developing nations agreed to work together for a long-term reduction of carbon emissions but failed to set any specific goals.
"Climate change is one of the great global challenges of our time," said a statement issued after a summit here with leaders of 16 nations including the United States, China and India.
Source: AFP/REUTERS/SBS
