G8 Conference Begins in Japan, Africa Tops Agenda

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G8 Conference Begins in Japan, Africa Tops Agenda

Japan hosts this year's G8 summit at the resort town of Toyako on the island of Hokkaido. As host, Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda chairs the group and sets the summit's agenda.

FOOD SHORTAGE: Representatives of the G8 nations met in Japan on Monday for their annual three-day summit. Leaders from eight African countries joined Monday's discussion to emphasize their economic plight.

by Laura Major
Informify Staff Writer
July 8, 2008

Food shortages and escalating oil prices worldwide have led to riots in some of the developing nations. U.S. President George Bush and Pope Benedict XVI called on G8 leaders to help poorer nations. "Today there is too much suffering on the continent of Africa," Bush said, "and now's the time for the comfortable nations to step up and do something about it." (AFP, 7/6/08)

G8 Falls Short of Aid Promises Made at Last Summit

At the 2005 summit, the G8 pledged to increase foreign aid by $50 billion a year by 2010, with half that aid going to African countries. Member countries also said they would help reduce or eliminate the debt of heavily indebted poor nations.

But according to the African Progress Panel led by former UN head Kofi Annan, the promised aid will fall $40 billion short. The G8 has done well on its promises to eliminate debt, but has not come through on direct aid.

Some G8 members, especially Italy, Canada, Japan and France, have come under criticism for avoiding their commitments.

G8 Summit Tackles Global Food Crisis

Analysts point to many factors causing the current food shortage, including...

climate change—widespread droughts led to crop failures
food restrictions—some countries restrict food exports (Russia is the only G8 member with restrictions)
biofuels—some countries, including the United States, divert food crops to produce biofuel
insufficient food production—many African nations cannot produce enough food; underinvestment by richer countries partly to blame

Although Africa needs immediate food relief, it also wants aid to increase food production. European Commission President José Manuel Barroso suggested the EU set up a $1.57 billion fund to help boost agriculture in poor countries.

G8 Leaders Also Discuss Global Warming

Talks on Tuesday and Wednesday will try and further UN talks about a worldwide agreement to curtail greenhouse gases by 2009. The United States refuses to participate in any agreement that doesn't include the developing nations, such as China and India. The U.S. refusal remains the primary obstacle to G8 consensus.

The G8 leaders released a draft statement Monday, in which they tentatively agreed to...

set emissions reduction goals by 2013
invest $10 billion a year in new technology for reducing emissions, especially carbon dioxide capture and storage
evaluate a plan for reducing emissions by industrial sector
request participation of China and India in emissions control

Question for Readers:

Do you think member nations of the G8 have any obligation to help other countries?

The 1973 oil crisis led to a global recession. In response, leaders from five nations met in what was the forerunner to today's "Group of Eight" (G8) summit.

Here are some of the highlights leading up to the meeting taking place now in Japan:

1974	United States, United Kingdom, West Germany, Japan and France meet informally as the Library Group.
1975	France invites Italy to join the group for a conference in Rambuillet. They agree to meet yearly, becoming the G6.
1976	United States requests that Canada join the group, becoming the G7.
1977	Representatives of the European Union join the discussions.
1997	Russia joins on initiative of United States; group becomes the current G8.
2003	China, in a diplomatic breakthrough, begins to attend G8 meetings.
2005	G8 establishes an additional set of meetings called the G8+5, which include Brazil, India, China, Mexico and South Africa.
2008	Eight African nations join the G8 countries to discuss Africa's economic struggles.

(Source: Xinhua, 7/7/08)

Member nations of the G8...

generate 65% of the world's economic output
influence development in poor countries with their financial clout
could help eradicate the spread of AIDS and TB, especially in poorer nations
spend more money on military than other nations (seven of the eight members do)
possess most of the world's nuclear weapons
pool data on terrorists and terrorism
provide an almost constant communication and discussion channel for issues facing the world

As an informal group, the G8 has no administrative structure. There's likely to be less political posturing and more real discussion on issues.