As far as I can see, the latest G8 meeting was a complete failure in terms of getting George Bush to take action on global warming. Despite saying that he would seriously consider proposals to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, there’s no commitment to actually do anything. Even more worryingly, he says he won’t do anything unless China does it too. 

How Bush can compare the developed economy of America, where under 5% of the world’s population spew out a quarter of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions, with that of China, is bizarre, to say the least.

Bush points to the fact that China will soon overtake the USA as the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. But, duh, that’s hardly surprising George - it’s the world’s biggest country, with a population over four times larger than yours. A fifth of the world’s population live there!

Sure, all countries need to take action to reduce emisions - and that includes developing economies such as that of China. But China’s per capita CO2 emissions are currently less than a third of those in industrialised nations. China’s view is that it’s the developed economies that should take the lead on emissions reductions.

Action from individuals - both to reduce their own emissions and to put pressure on governments to stop this petty squabbling and get on with saving the planet - is now more important than ever.