The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Tokyo

Leaders of Japan and the European Union called Wednesday for "highly ambitious and binding" global targets to fight climate change, seeking a breakthrough at July's Group of Eight summit. In an annual meeting, the two sides also called for urgent action to cope with rising global food prices, warning that they could worsen poverty in developing countries and drag down the world economy.

The talks come ahead of the July 7-9 summit of the Group of Eight rich nations in Japan, which the host nation hopes will shape the course of negotiations to reach a post-Kyoto Protocol deal by the end of 2009 on curbing global warming.