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G8: 2005 Summit

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness the Leader of the House for repeating the Statement. While she was speaking I tried to obtain a copy from the Printed Paper Office, but I was told that it was not available. I suspect that the discussions are continuing in another place, but it would have been helpful to understand some of the figures that she mentioned in the Statement she repeated. I offer our thanks to the Prime Minister for focusing the G8 Summit on two issues—Africa and climate change. The contrast between what the world leaders were trying to achieve at Gleneagles and the events in London on Thursday could not have been more sharply drawn. Does the Minister agree that the agreements made by the G8 countries at Gleneagles will be judged not by the promises made but by the outcome of the promises kept? It would be helpful to know what mechanism exists to ensure that all G8 members fulfil the pledges that they have made. Are there adequate systems of monitoring on the basis of which some conclusions can be reached? Does the Minister agree that the success of the initiatives relies to a great extent on the willingness of African leaders to take this opportunity to improve the lives of their citizens, root out corruption and improve governance? How much of the £50 billion increase by 2010 is new money? Will our share be drawn from DfID’s existing budget or is it supplementary to it? We welcome the $3 billion aid to the Palestinian Authority. The two-state solution will require the authority to tackle the problems of its people and terrorism and to root out corruption. On trade and the elimination of subsidies, there is   clearly a long way to go. There is a lot of disappointment on environmental issues. There is an impression that a potential deal has been watered down to get the US onboard. What we need is a country-based, target-based successor to Kyoto. Were any specific steps agreed to reduce emissions? Overall, this is a move forward, but there is still a long way to go.