As has happened before every G8 meeting of recent years, various parties are warning of disaster if the heads of government don’t agree on drastic action on global warming. Currently, the spin is that Chancellor Merkel will not compromise with the US:

Speaking on Monday in Berlin at a closed-door meeting of climate experts from environmental and development campaign groups, Ms Merkel indicated she was unwilling to compromise on wording on the 2ºC limit. A February 2007 draft of the communiqué includes the 2ºC limit and says it would necessitate a peaking of greenhouse gas emissions “within the next 10-15 years, followed by substantial global emission reductions of around 50 per cent by 2050 compared to 1990 levels”. The summit now appears likely either to agree on a strongly worded statement or for the scientific findings to be removed to avoid them being compromised by political horse-trading, according to the environmental groups present at the talks, and other people familiar with Ms Merkel’s stance.

Benny Peiser comments:

I’m afraid we’ve seen this form of green bluff far too often in the run-up to G8 summits. Is anyone seriously entertaining the idea that Angela Merkel will turn her own summit into a political fiasco? For a start, the EU appears rather isolated on its climate policy as both Japan and Canada have voiced their own doubts. In addition, let’s not underestimate the well-known opposition to Europe’s goals by the five invited ‘outreach’ countries from the developing world. More importantly, though, the EU and the US did come to an understanding on climate policy at their summit less than three weeks ago. That’s why I trust the more realistic and more authoritative perspective taken by Jens Weidmann, Angela Merkel’s top economic adviser who is acutely aware of the political reality in the US. Europe’s unilateral climate policy simply fails to have the necessary support among U.S. lawmakers, as yesterday’s defeat of the first climate change bill in the new U.S. Senate demonstrates quite manifestly.
As AP reported on 26 April: “Next week’s EU-U.S. leaders summit will stay away from talks on ambitious targets to cut carbon dioxide emissions, despite the EU’s determination to seek a global climate change deal, Europen Union officials said Thursday. To bring in the EU’s targets and “have those as the result from our trans-Atlantic discussions, I think that’s asking for a bit too much,” Merkel’s top economic adviser Jens Weidmann said, adding that the EU had to bear in mind the political opposition the White House might face on the issue in the Congress.”

Meanwhile, Gerry Baker in The Times suggests that Hank Paulson’s absence from the G8 Finance Ministers’ meeting is indicative that the US is starting the process of winding up this useless talking-shop. We can but hope.