The G8 Summit, from the PM

I have just returned from three days in Italy attending a successful G8 Summit and wanted to update you on some of the historic agreements we reached.

First, however, I must say how moved I was by the decision to hold the G8 in L'Aquila to show solidarity with the population of the region, which as you'll remember was severely hit by an earthquake in April.

At the summit, we discussed many issues, including the interrelated challenges of the economic crisis, poverty and climate change.

Our major breakthrough was agreement for the first time to cap global temperature rises by 2°C and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.

This important deal, agreed on the first day, paves the way for a wider global agreement at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen in December.

Britain and the other major developed nations also pledged £12 billion for efforts to boost food supplies in the face of a looming hunger emergency.

The investment will fund a three-year initiative to help poorer nations develop their own agriculture, enabling them to become self-sufficient.

As President Obama said, the purpose of aid must be to create the conditions where it's no longer needed.

We have also agreed to a call from President Obama to hold talks in Washington next spring which could lead to countries reducing their nuclear arsenals.

Only collective action like this can increase the pressure on those states determined to develop nuclear weapons, such as Iran and North Korea.

As well as attending the main sessions at the summit, I also met with many important world leaders, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon where we discussed the situation in Burma.

I hope you'll agree that these results prove that the world's major economies can make real achievements for everyone when we come together.

Gordon Brown

$20bn food aid pledge at G8 conclusion

G8 leaders have pledged $20billion to boost food supplies to poorer nations following the final day of discussions at the summit in L’Aquila, Italy.

The investment, which rose from an expected figure of $15 billion, will help countries develop their own agriculture.

At a press conference following the conclusion of the three-day summit, Gordon Brown said it was “unacceptable” that some people in the world are going hungry.

He said:

“We agreed today to the urgent need for decisive action to free humankind from hunger and poverty and we want to make sure in tomorrow’s world that no-one will go hungry any more… I believe not only does Africa have a capacity to feed itself if things are done right, but it can in future also play a major part in feeding the world.”

Mr Brown said that stabilising food supplies in Africa will help to avoid food security problems around the rest of the world. He added that Britain would contribute $1.8 billion towards the programme.

The Prime Minister told reporters that the G8 had also agreed to take forward economic measures agreed at the G20 in London earlier this year, calling on countries to ensure more bank lending, to reject protectionism and to invest in recovery.

He said:

“The G8 has heard loud and clear a second wake-up call on the world economy. It’s a call that we avoid complacency, it’s a call that we accelerate progress on the agreements that we reached at the G20 in London.”

Earlier today, Mr Brown met Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi - the first time the two leaders have met.

During their 40-minute discussion, they covered topics such as Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, who is appealing against his conviction and seeking to return to Libya, and British child Nadia Fawzi, who was abducted by her Libyan father two years ago. Oil prices and international finance for Africa were also on the agenda.

While Mr Brown took part in the summit, his wife Sarah and the other G8 spouses learnt more about the UN World Food Programme’s Red Cup project.

Brown climate speech - Greenpeace responds

Commenting on today's climate change speech by Gordon Brown, Greenpeace Chief Scientist Dr Doug Parr said:

"Brown is right when he says the scale of the money on the table for the developing world will make or break Copenhagen. By becoming the first major leader to put a figure on how much money is needed he has shown signs of leadership on climate change that have so far been sorely lacking. At last a G8 leader is talking about the right order of magnitude, three digit numbers and billions instead of millions. Without these kind of sums there won't be a deal in Copenhagen, and without a deal the world faces a grave future."

He added:

"The Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband appears to be winning some important battles in Whitehall, but now Gordon Brown needs to go to the G8 meeting next month and put serious money on the table to show his latest pronouncement isn't just empty rhetoric."

Brown says UK will increase overseas aid despite deficit.

Gordon Brown yesterday promised that Britain would keep its pledge to raise its overseas development aid budget to an internationally agreed target of 0.7 percent of national income in spite of the growing budget deficit.

Britain, along with other G8 countries, promised at the Gleneagles summit in 2005 to raise aid spending to that 0.7 percent level by 2013. The prime minister said the UK government was working with its partners in the G20 and at the World Bank to set up a new fund specifically to help the world's poorest people during the downturn. He said the UK would also push to win developing nations a bigger role in international institutions, like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Brown also said the Millennium Development Goals 'must remain a central focus of our[G20] efforts.

In related news, Al Jazeera reports that Douglas Alexander, Britain's international development minister, has set out new proposals aimed at helping people in developing countries hit by the global credit crunch. The measures include an international 'rapid response' fund that would provide a safety net for the world's most vulnerable people. Alexander said the multi-billion dollar fund would be specifically targeted at certain groups, including women, children, elderly people and the disabled, with food provided for children and medical care for pregnant women.