Industrial countries agree to cut greenhouse gases

RUSUTSU, Japan -- The world's richest countries agreed Tuesday to support a 50% reduction in worldwide greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 -- but environmentalists and developing countries denounced the move as a mushy compromise that would do little to stop global warming.

The South African environmental minister, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, dismissed the long-term emissions goal as "an empty slogan without substance." The Group of Eight industrialized nations set the goal at their annual summit here on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

The 50% target is non-binding and "falls below what is scientifically required to stabilize the atmosphere at a relatively safe level," van Schalkwyk said.

Japan, for instance, has already pledged to cut emissions by as much as 80% by 2050. The G-8 communique didn't include a base year; so it was unclear whether emissions would be cut from 1990 or 2008 or another year's levels. ...