G8 pledges must not be forgotten - Bruce

3.54.21pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 7th Jun 2007

On the first full day of talks at the G8 summit, Gordon MP Malcolm Bruce has urged G8 Leaders not to lose sight of the original agenda on climate change and the fight against global poverty, in the face of growing concerns on Russian relations with the US and Europe.

Mr Bruce who is Chair of the influential Parliamentary International Development Committee, said:

"G8 leaders must remember the commitments made at the Gleneagles Summit two years ago, where they pledged action on debt cancellation, trade justice and water and sanitation. The successful Make Poverty History campaign went a long way to raise awareness of the issue, and millions of lives have been improved since 2005, but developed nations must do more to fight world poverty.

"The world's poorest nations are also those most at risk from climate change, and I urge the Prime Minister to convince his fellow leaders of the importance of reaching agreement on this issue. International dialogue is crucial to making progress on what is a global issue. We simply do not have time to be distracted from finding solutions to it. The deterioration of relations with Russia is clearly a matter of concern but it must not be allowed to overshadow this vital summit."

ENDS

Note to Editors:

Malcolm Bruce MP is the Vice-Chair of GLOBE UK a parliamentary group which facilitates an international dialogue on climate change.