The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Kobe

Environment chiefs from the world's top industrial countries pledged "strong political will" Monday toward cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050, declaring that developed nations should take the lead in battling global warming.

The statement by ministers from the Group of Eight nations, however, stopped short of pledging firm commitments for mid-century or a midterm goal for 2020, which many countries argue are crucial to saving the planet from environmental crisis provoked by rising temperatures.

Aimed at setting the stage for decisive action at the G8 summit in Toyako, Japan, in July, the joint communique also recognized rich nations' obligation to provide technology and financing to help developing countries fight global warming.

"The major outcome was on climate change: we strongly expressed the will to come to agreement at Toyako so we can halve emissions by 2050," said Japanese Environment Minister Ichiro Kamoshita. "Advanced nations should show leadership to reach this goal."

The statement cited the need for global gas emissions to peak within the next 10 to 20 years, and it called on developing countries with rapidly increasing greenhouse gas emissions to work to curb the rate of increase.

The ministers, however, made no mention of a scientific recommendation that rich countries make reductions of between 25 percent and 40 percent by 2020 to avoid the worst effects of warming. European nations, the U.N. climate chief and environmentalists had clamored in Kobe for progress toward such a reduction pledge by G8 countries, arguing that failure could endanger U.N.-led talks aimed at concluding a new climate change pact by the end of 2009.

"Without a mandatory midterm target for developing countries, it will be very difficult to get agreement" by that deadline, said Matthias Machnig, the delegate from Germany. Still, he conceded that ministers in Kobe had "made a step here today - a small one, but an important one."