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President George W. Bush moved closer to winning a Group of Eight commitment
to combat global warming without shackling the U.S. to a specific target for
emissions cuts.
After giving ground to European critics last week by proposing an international
conference to stem man-made pollution that is overheating the earth's
atmosphere, Bush balked at European calls for a goal of cutting greenhouse gas
emissions in half by 2050.
Bush's closest ally in Europe, U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, said the U.S.
counteroffer on climate change helped trigger a ``very substantial coming
together'' among world leaders over how to prevent an environmental disaster.
``America has moved a long way on this,'' Blair told reporters today at the
start of the G-8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany. ``It's possible that we leave
this summit with a commitment on the part of everyone to a substantial reduction
in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. ...