"The reductions that the EU has achieved over the past decade are largely attributable to circumstance rather than climate policy," said Elliot Diringer, a director for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change in Arlington, Virginia.
"In Germany following reunification, lots of inefficient factories were shut down in the east, which resulted in a 'bonus' reduction," Diringer explained. "In the U.K., a policy to phase out coal-fired electric production and replace it with natural gas has paid emissions dividends, but [that change] was largely driven by economics."
Germany was best at developing new renewable energy resources, WWF reported, growing nearly 2 percent since 1990. Only half of the G8 countries showed any growth in this category at all.
Canada, Italy, Japan, and Russia scored far lower in the overall rankings. The report found them lagging in their efforts to comply with the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which mandated lower greenhouse emissions, as well as with the EU-stated goal of keeping the global rise in temperatures below 3.6°F (2°C) by 2050.
While the United States's greenhouse gas emissions grew by some 13 percent from 1990 to 2003, for example, Canada's went up 20 percent.
Similarly, the U.S. would need to reduce its emissions by 20 percent to meet Kyoto goals, though the country did not sign the protocol. Canada, a Kyoto signer, must implement a 26 percent cut to reach its goal.
G8 Climate Goals
While the G8 nations lag behind their goals, Pew's Diringer notes that most of the countries are, at minimum, looking to improve.
"It's important that they've set a target and are continually assessing their progress toward that target," he said.
Since the U.S. has not entered into accords like Kyoto, however, its goals remain strictly discretionary.
"In the U.S. we have only a voluntary goal that is more or less business as usual, because it allows emissions to continue growing pretty much at the present rate through 2012," he said.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac have been outspoken in recent days about their desire to get the United States to embrace a strong international climate agreement. The issue will be on the agenda at this week's Group of Eight summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.
Prospects for such an agreement remain murky, though scientists in all G8 nations, including the United States, have warned that climate change is occurring and that governments should take action.
"The fact that Tony Blair has given the climate issue such a high priority at this year's summit is quite significant," Diringer said. "Putting it atop the G8 agenda elevates the issue and puts it before … top-level government actors."
"In terms of consciousness-raising alone it's quite significant," Diringer concluded. "But the prospects for achieving significant outcomes [through the summit] are unfortunately quite limited."
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