What the G8 is doing about global warming
Will aiming to cut emissions by half help?
The G8 leaders’ promise to fight global warming may be too little, too late, said The Denver Post in an editorial. Environmentalists certainly think so, and setting the goal to cut global greenhouse-gas emissions in half by 2050 will prove meaningless unless it serves as “groundwork for a binding climate-change treaty” that spells out concrete steps to make it happen.
Actually, this goal is so ambitious that, if the industrialized nations try to meet it, said The Washington Times in an editorial, the pricetag “would make the Manhattan Project, the Hoover Dam and other feats of state all combined look miniscule by comparison.” No wonder ordinary Americans remain reluctant to shell out a fortune “to combat the uncertain threat of global warming.”
Don’t worry, said Stephen Addison in Reuters, there’s no way to realistically shoot for halving emissions unless China and India go along. The U.S won’t make cuts unless they go along, and the world’s rapidly industrializing, energy-guzzling giants aren’t about to sign up for anything that will put the brakes on progress that will “improve the living standards of their people.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This agreement could mark a welcome first step toward a concerted effort to help the environment, said the Tokyo Yomiuri Shimbun in an editorial. Now the challenge is to convince developing countries that, with support from industrialized nations, they can “work for the common good of the planet" and "strive to reduce their emissions as much as their circumstances allow.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What does 'conquering' Gaza mean to Israel?
Today's Big Question Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet has approved a plan to displace much of the Palestinian population while seizing and occupying the territory on a long-term basis.
-
Casey Means: the controversial 'wellness influencer' nominated for surgeon general
In the Spotlight Means has drawn controversy for her closeness to RFK Jr.
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin