There has been some progress in the G8 talks, although some of this is re-iteration of the 2005 G8 Gleneagles commitments. The Leaders have pledged to spend some $60bn on health improvements for Africa, with half from the USA. This is a little bit of a shell game though, because quite a lot of this money had been previously pledged in Gleneagles ($50bn) and there have been delays in getting the money allocated.
Unfortunately US President Bush missed the first few hours of Friday's business, suffering from a stomach complaint. He managed some other topics covering "further measures" against Iran if Tehran failed to stop its uranium enrichment programme and further action against Sudan if Khartoum failed to support international efforts to end the conflict in Darfur. Also a warning to North Korea to stop testing nuclear-capable missiles and abandon all nuclear programmes.
If Angela Merkal's original agenda was mainly Africa and Climate then it comes as some re-assertion of what was said two years ago. The other topics were not part of the prime-time menu. Tony Blair seems to be saying "immense progress" has been made. Specifically, 18 countries have had their debts written off, which is clearly positive progress.
On the emissions though, we now have a debate about what to do to replace the Kyoto protocol with something else, against a target for suggested 50% reduction by the somewhat distant 2050.
Lets hope this is not just re-arranging deckchairs.
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