Major G8 tech investment to fight global warming

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TOKYO, June 29 (AFP): The Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations will jointly invest more than 10 billion dollars a year on research and development of technology to combat global warming, a report said today.

The plan, including research on underground storage of carbon dioxides, is included in a draft joint statement on economic policy to be adopted at the G8 summit scheduled for July 7-9 in Japan, the business daily Nikkei said.

Climate change will dominate the summit which will bring together leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United States to the northern Japan lakeside resort of Toyako.

The Nikkei said it had obtained the outline of the draft statement.

According to the draft, the G8 leaders will also seek an agreement on setting country-by-country goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the medium term from 2013, the daily said.

They will also express their determination to avert a global economic crisis through coordinated efforts to deal with the impact of soaring oil and food prices, it added.