The USA & global warming
US close to climate change concessions
Ewen MacAskill and agencies
The
The move was signalled during last weekend's "sherpas" meeting at Lancaster House in
The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, said he hoped for a "satisfactory outcome both in respect of aid to
"Each country comes to these negotiations ... with its own national perspective," Mr Straw said. "It is, I think, remarkable how far sentiment has moved in the period since the prime minister identified aid to
Mr Bush's stance will be underlined in an interview to be shown this evening on ITV's Tonight With Trevor McDonald. He will describe climate change as "a significant, long-term issue that we've got to deal with", acknowledging that human activity is "to some extent" to blame.
But Mr Bush will also warn that he will not make major concessions on climate change in return for Tony Blair's staunch support over
In the interview, recorded last week before the sherpas meeting, Mr Bush made clear he regarded new technology as the key to halting global warming. He indicated he believes Mr Blair is also ready to "move beyond the
Environmental activists immediately voiced dismay at Mr Bush's comments, which they said could block any progress on climate change at Gleneagles. They urged leaders of the other seven G8 countries to sign a communiqué excluding the
But the environment secretary, Margaret Beckett, said she was deeply reluctant to try to interpret Mr Bush's words. "I think it's been clear for some days that negotiations were likely to go to down to the wire and that appears still to be the case," she told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
"What we wanted and what we do still want is to try to end up going in the same direction, that wherever people come from there is a recognition about the urgency of the problem and there is agreement. What we hope for is quite an ambitious action plan on steps that the international community can take, and also agreement to try to take forward discussion and dialogue about the future."
Downing Street said that Mr Blair had never seen his relationship with the
"G8 is not about drawing the
Mr Bush's comments will be broadcast as thousands of protestors continue a week of protest in
On the issue of Africa, the president brushed off campaigners' complaints that his decision to double
The
He expressed readiness to abandon farm subsidies which make it difficult for African economies to compete, but only if the EU was also prepared to scrap its common agricultural policy. "We've got agricultural subsidies, not nearly to the extent that our friends in the EU have," he said. "And so the position of the
Asked if he would make a special effort to help Mr Blair at the summit, which begins on Wednesday, in return for his support over
"Tony Blair made decisions on what he thought was best for keeping the peace and winning the war on terror, as I did. So I go to the G8 not really trying to make him look bad or good, but I go to the G8 with an agenda that I think is best for our country."
He made clear that he was not ready to sign up to an agreement to reduce carbon emissions: "If this looks like
Instead, he said he wanted to talk with fellow G8 leaders about developing new technologies to limit climate change without reducing the availability of energy to individuals and businesses. He highlighted his administration's £11.3bn investment in developing technologies like hydrogen-powered cars, zero-emission power stations and carbon sequestration.
"I think you can grow your economy and at the same time do a better job of harnessing greenhouse gases," he said.
Meanwhile a G8 bicycle protest caravan is due to arrive in the Scottish capital from