27 May 2011: The Leaders of the G8 met in Deauville, France, from 26-27 May 2011, to discuss, inter alia, green growth, climate change and biodiversity. The Summit concluded with the adoption of the G8 Declaration titled “Renewed Commitment for Freedom and Democracy.”

Leaders affirmed that green growth is an essential element to ensure sustainable global growth, promoting resource efficiency and sound water management, fighting climate change and conserving biodiversity. They noted that a green growth dynamic needs to be shared, expressing commitment to work within all relevant fora and agencies to promote green growth. They called for the implementation of the outcomes of the ongoing work of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on a green growth strategy, which envisages different national circumstances and the broadest range of technologies. They indicated their support for strategies for green growth that mainstream adapted policy mixes at all economic and social levels, supporting both public and private initiatives.

Leaders mentioned the current deployment of a broad set of policies including market-based, regulatory and voluntary measures, and promoting research and development for clean technologies and energy efficiency. They also committed to: work with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the OECD and the International Energy Agency (IEA), to identify an appropriate set of possible indicators of green growth; and support labor market measures supportive of the creation of green jobs, as well as of the greening of traditional jobs and of the development of skills policies, in order to facilitate the transition towards national and local sustained green activities. They expressed strong support for international cooperation on green growth, notably looking towards the Conference on Water, Energy and Food Security in November 2011, in Bonn, Germany; the UN Conference on Climate Change in December 2011, in Durban, South Africa; the World Water Forum in March 2012, in Marseilles, France; and the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in October 2012, in New Delhi, India.

On energy, leaders noted the need to employ a range of measures to encourage efficient and sustainable resource use, including renewable energy, by national and other actors, committing to continue support for international initiatives launched by the G8, notably the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation, the IEA International Low Carbon Energy Technology Platform, the Global Bio Energy Partnership, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). They also reaffirmed support to the Kobe 3R (“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”) Action Plan and welcomed the OECD report on its implementation on resource productivity, and invited the OECD to continue to work on this issue.

On climate change, leaders expressed determination to act as part of a larger global effort to address this threat as well as their solidarity with developing countries, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable. They reaffirmed willingness to: share with all countries the goal of achieving at least a 50% reduction of global emissions by 2050, recognizing that this implies that global emissions need to peak as soon as possible and decline thereafter; support a goal of developed countries reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in aggregate by 80% or more by 2050, compared to 1990 or more recent years; and undertake robust aggregate and individual mid-term reductions, taking into account that baselines may vary and that efforts need to be comparable. They noted the need for major emerging economies to undertake quantifiable actions to reduce emissions significantly below business-as-usual by a specified year.

They welcomed the outcome of the Cancun Conference as a successful effort of the international community building on the Copenhagen Accord, supporting the provisions related to transparency, mitigation, finance (in particular the creation of the Green Climate Fund), adaptation, technology and the fight against deforestation and REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, as well as conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks). They pointed to the Durban Climate Change Conference as an opportunity to operationalize the Cancun Agreements and deal with unresolved issues.

On biodiversity, leaders recognized that the current rate of biodiversity loss is unacceptable for its negative impact on human well-being, sustainable development, poverty eradication and food security. They also recognized that ecosystems play a key role in the global carbon cycle, through carbon storage and adaptation to climate change. They welcomed the outcomes of the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD, in particular the adoption of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, the decision on the Strategy for Resource Mobilisation and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing. They also emphasized the TEEB study, the operationalization of IPBES and timely decisions regarding the Nagoya Protocol on ABS as soon as possible. [The G8 Website][Final Declaration]