Two key issues should be tackled by the Brazilians at the G8 Summit (the group, comprised of the world's seven wealthiest countries plus Russia), to be held today and tomorrow in the German city of Heiligendamm: renewable energies, and trade.
According to the Brazilian minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, Brazil and India seized the occasion of president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's visit to the Asiatic country to further discuss those matters.
Along with China, Mexico, and South Africa, the two countries are participating as guests in the annual G8 Summit, whose key issue this year is global warming.
"We are very much in tune with each other. We are all concerned with the issue of global warming. We all want the existing goals to be met," said Amorim.
According to the foreign minister, the Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will defend, in Germany, the use of biofuels as a solution for reducing emission of gases that cause climate changes.
"President Lula will talk about climate change and its implications on the issue of energy, and vice-versa," the foreign minister stated, in New Delhi.
"The use of clean and renewable energies, such as biofuels, may contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions."
According to Amorim, not only India but also the remaining developing countries have similar stances to that of Brazil. The issue should be discussed in detail during a preparatory meeting of the five guest countries.
"We are surely going to release a document," said the foreign minister. Another issue to be discussed in Germany is the Brazilian proposal for avoided deforestation, which sets a financial compensation for fighting deforestation.
"The president should mention some type of incentive against deforestation," said Amorim. With regard to opposition to the proposal, he declared: "Every new idea is not very well accepted."
Another issue that will surely be tackled, according to Amorim, is the ongoing round of negotiations under the World Trade Organization (WTO).
"In our opinion, the round must be concluded in a positive manner, because what we need is a true round of development. I believe that we are coming closer to making it actually viable," he stated.
In addition to the summits of the G5 (comprised of the world's five most industrialized countries: France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and the G8, president Lula's schedule in Germany will also include bilateral meetings with British prime minister Tony Blair, German foreign minister Angela Merkel, and high level officials from Canada, Nigeria, and Algeria.
ABr
