G8 heads of state call for 50 percent cut in GHGs by 2050; “At this rate, by 2050 the world will be cooked and the G8 leaders will be long forgotten” says Oxfam

The G8 heads of state issued a call for a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 by G8 countries, but the call met with tepid response from other nations as well as environmental leaders. Critics of the proposal noted that the G8 countries did not specify any intermediate goals, or a baseline year from which emissions would be reduced.

The presumption by most observers is that the G8 is endorsing a 50 percent cut from current levels, while the EU has already pledged cuts of 20 percent from 1990 levels by 2020, while Japan reportedly pushed for cuts of up to 80 percent from current levels by 2050. Charity group Oxfam told the Irish Times “At this rate, by 2050 the world will be cooked and the G8 leaders will be long forgotten.”

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