Obama, G-8 Make Little Headway on Global Warming

From the Los Angeles Times, "Despite Obama's Pledge, G-8 Makes Little Headway on Global Warming":

Addressing leaders of the world's most important economies early Thursday, President Obama wasted no time in proclaiming a new day for U.S. policy on climate change.

"I know that in the past, the United States has sometimes fallen short of meeting our responsibilities," he said. "So let me be clear: Those days are over."

But by the end of the day, when the Group of 8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, wrapped up its deliberations on climate, Obama found himself stymied by many of the same roadblocks that plagued previous efforts to tackle global warming.

Leaders of the most developed nations again declined to commit themselves to any specific actions now or in the immediate future to curb the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming -- actions that would require increasing energy prices, raising taxes or imposing other unpopular economic measures on their people.

Instead, they embraced the high-sounding goal of reducing their own emissions by 80% and worldwide emissions by 50% by 2050 -- without pledging to take any specific steps to get there. China, India and other major developing countries, which pressed for action in the next decade by the G-8 countries, reacted by rejecting the package.

See also, "G-8 Climate-Change Agreement Falls Short." And, "Hysteria Is the Real threat, Not Global Warming."

Related: "Al Gore Sued by 30,000 Scientists for Fraud for Global Warming Scam."

Cartoon Credit: Americans for Limited Government and William Warren.