Is the clean economy going to begin at G8 talks in Italy?
Leading companies and WWF International are calling on global leaders meeting in L’Aquila, Italy this week for the G8 Summit to “let the clean economy begin”. The campaign, which includes Johnson&Johnson, Nike, Lafarge, Tetra Pak, Sony, Nokia, and HP, is aimed at persuading G8 leaders to agree on a global climate deal by the end of the year. Global leaders will meet in Copenhagen this December to thrash out a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which set emission limits up until 2012. “Traditionally, governments give businesses environmental targets,” says Oliver Rapf of WWF. “This time, many of the world’s leading companies are already ahead on the issue, and are urging governments to deliver a strong framework to reduce CO2 emissions globally.” The WWF, along with Germany, Britain, France and Italy, is calling for countries to commit to keeping global average temperature rises below 2°C. Ambitious mid-term emission reduction targets of 40% will be needed by 2020 and a long term goa
