G8 Reaches Africa Poverty Compromise as Blair Returns from Bombings

World leaders, who are currently gathered in Gleneagles, Scotland, have been shaken by the deadly bombings in London, which this morning have been confirmed to have killed more than 50. However, they have publicly confessed that they are adamant to press on with their schedule to agree on a major aid package deal for Africa.

The G8 Summit agenda was continued unaffected yesterday, despite the absence of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who rushed back to London after the horrific scenes of terrorist bombs hitting the transport system.

While Blair calmed and rallied the shocked nation the leaders ploughed on with the agenda. However, Tony Blair did travel back to Gleneagles Thursday evening to rejoin the world’s most powerful leaders.

As the G8 Summit draws to a close, a series of statements will be released by the G8 leaders. The leaders will agree to double assistance and aid to reduce poverty and diseases in Africa, but Blair’s other objective on climate change is expected to make much less progress.

The main obstacle clearly seems to be the United States, which is the only of the G8 nations not to ratify the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on global warming. President Bush has continued to reject Blair’s requests for specific targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

During the G8 Summit, meetings took place with leaders of five African nations to highlight efforts to help the world’s poorest continent.

In an act of defiance, to show that the terrorist attacks could not disrupt their purpose, all G8 leaders stood behind Prime Minister Blair as he delivered a special statement. He condemned the "barbaric acts" and vowed, "We are united in our resolve to confront and defeat this terrorism that is not an attack on one nation, but on all nations and on civilised people everywhere."

In support to Blair, President Bush also said, "We will not yield to these people."

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said, "Our collective freedom has come under attack today by those who would use violence and murder to force extremism upon the world."

All leaders pledged that the attacks would not stop them from achieving what they had set about to do at the summit.

Blair said, "We will not allow violence to change our societies or our values nor will we allow it to stop the work of this summit."

Throughout the talks on Thursday, the G8 leaders received frequent updates on the unfolding events in London and all conferred with their home officials to ensure that top security precautions were taken around the world.

Thursday’s discussions were primarily focused on climate change. The Associated Press have reported that the leaders have agreed that increased demand for fossil fuels -- as well as other human activities -- was contributing in large part to the build up of greenhouse gases tied to the warming of the earth's atmosphere.

In a very encouraging move, French President Jacques Chirac called the compromise language a "visible, real evolution" in the American position.

However, a number of environmental and Christian groups have complained that the statement clearly had omitted Blair’s objectives of obtaining commitments to cut greenhouse emissions by set levels.

The Summit leaders are expected to pledge a doubling of aid to Africa by 2012 – one of Blair’s main aims – but it may leave out the numerical goal of increasing aid from US$25 to US$50 billion.

In addition, the pledge will leave out Blair’s other goal of all summit countries to commit to raising foreign aid to 0.7 percent GNP by 2015.

Currently the US gives just 0.16 percent of its GNP, although due to the nation being the richest in the world, the numerical figure indicates that the US gives the highest amount in aid.

"It's particularly barbaric that this has happened on a day when people are meeting to try to help the problems of poverty in Africa, the long-term problems of climate change and the environment," Blair told reporters.