TRT has been taking great interest in the G8 summit, which is the first attended by President Obama.
As ever, green is on the menu, led by climate change. There are negotiations, ideas and debates and as expected, final decisions are hard to come by. A deal for G8 nations – plus India and China - to reach a unanimous 2050 decision on carbon gas emissions was quickly dispatched after the developing nations ruled for a stronger commitment by 2020 from the developed nations, including the US, on emissions.
However, all is not lost. This summit has been hailed as 'historic' due to all the G8 nations and 17 developing nations accepting a two-degree goal to limit the rate at which the world is warming. Michael Froman, President Obama's top negotiator on international economic issues, said the declaration 'represents a significant step forward in terms of adding political momentum.' Other topics being discussed are the fragile state of the global economy, and farming initiatives in the developing world.
Watching the G8 announcements, as an individual, family or a business, it's easy to feel that not enough is being achieved on issues such as climate change. But keep in mind the scale of the changes – the population of the countries involved, the global impact of even the smallest decisions – there is a glimmer of hope, and incremental successes will lead to larger ones. We all live in hope, and that's not a bad thing.
