Approximately 133 parliamentarians from 23 countries along with prominent politicians under a caucus called GLOBE (global legislators for a balanced environment) have gathered here ahead of the Jul. 7-9 G8 meetings in Hokkaido. They hope to influence the G8 -- the world’s most industrialised countries -- to adopt a policy for tacking climate change post-2012 when the current Kyoto Protocol ends.

This was resolved at the meeting in December 2007 in Bali, Indonesia. The negotiations will be complex. Is it possible to overcome opposition and seek a reasonable stabilization of the climate? This question describes the challenge, and the answer can be reasonably positive.

The United States will tell a July meeting of the Group of Eight rich nations that it cannot meet big cuts in emissions of planet-warming gases by 2020, its chief climate negotiator Harlan Watson said.  "It's frankly not do-able for us," he told Reuters on Tuesday, referring to a goal for rich countries to curb greenhouse gases by 25-40 percent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels.
 
A draft summit declaration, dated May 5 and seen by Reuters, showed Washington is blocking efforts to get the summit to agree targets for cutting carbon emissions, insisting that responsibility be shared by big emerging economies.