Following the meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and George W. Bush of the U.S. near St Petersburg last night, UK’s leading Christian relief agency Tearfund continues to ensure promises made on finding global solutions to climate change, trade and HIV, are kept.|TOP|

Tearfund’s concern is that Russia’s agenda of ensuring energy security will dominate proceedings, leaving nothing for the poor people in developing countries.

Paul Cook, Tearfund’s Head of Policy, said: “It would be disastrous if the commitments made at last year’s G8 were not built upon this year. Climate change, fairer trade rules and access to treatment for HIV are global priorities which urgently demand global solutions. Tearfund is watching closely to ensure that the G8 follows up with clear, measurable steps on these issues so that poor people are not betrayed by empty promises by the world’s richer nations. It would be a tragedy if this year’s G8 meeting was dominated by the agenda of the rich to the detriment of the world’s poor.”

At Gleneagles last year, the UK government placed climate change and Africa at the top of the agenda, but according toTearfund, little has been achieved to help developing countries adapt to climate change.

The outcomes of last year’s G8 included a Plan of Action and a specific dialogue on Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainable Development to monitor implementation.

|AD|The charity argues that ‘the only truly secure future for the planet’s energy needs is to improve on energy efficiency and to promote the use of renewable energy sources.’

In other news, while Tearfund welcomes DFID’s White Paper commitment and their plans to increase the amount spent on water and sanitation in Africa to £200 million by 2010, the charity expresses its disappointment that the White Paper does not do enough to reform unfair trade rules or combat AIDS.

Paul Cook, Tearfund’s head of public policy, said: “2.6 billion people worldwide still do not have access to sanitation services and this increase brings the target of achieving the Millennium Development Goals closer. Tearfund has lobbied hard on prioritising climate change and welcomes the government’s increased focus on it as a critical threat to sustainable development.

"However it is now crucial that DfID sets out more concrete steps for action and does not shy away from the difficult issue of how economic growth can be pursued without further degradation of the environment. Finally, Tearfund maintains that the failure to adequately protect developing countries from forced trade liberalisation is a glaring omission.”