British expert cynical of G8 consensus on climate change

Xinhua (China): There would be no broad consensus on climate change in the coming summit of the Group of Eight (G8) scheduled next week in Japan, said Alexander Neill, a British expert. "I am a little bit cynical about the possibility of broad consensus about climate change," said Neill, head of the Asia Program in the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies, in a recent interview with Xinhua.

The issue of climate change had not been "fully communicated" among the eight powers, and there had not been a "consensus", Neill said. According to the expert, big difference stands in the way of developed and developing countries. "The West is trying to dictate how the developing world should address the climate change issue, so there is an argument about adaptation on mitigation."

"It is very clear that countries like China and India do not want to be dictated on how to go about changing their infrastructure. This is mainly because, to feed their economies, they need to consume energy," he said. "So to be told that you have to curb your energy consumption because of a problem that actually started in the West would be hypocritical," Neill said….