U.S. President George W. Bush has urged the industrialised nations to co-operate over climate change ahead of this week's G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan. Speaking at a joint press conference with host Japanese Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda, the president said he would use the summit to advance American ideas on combating climate change.

Though sounding as if he intended to lead other G8 leaders towards a useful and binding conclusion on the restriction of carbon emissions, Bush hinted that, unless emerging industrial nations like China and India don't agree with his proposal, nothing could be achieved.

He said he intends to:

"remind people that the United States and Japan really do lead the world in research when it comes to clean technologies."
Bush added, however, that "I also am realistic enough to tell you that if China and India don't share that same aspiration, that we're not going to solve the problem." [source]

The United States has in the past refused to sign up to any binding carbon emissions agreement arguing that it should apply to all countries, not just advanced economies. Critics of the Bush administration's policies have said that unless the U.S. takes the lead, other high-polluting economies will be loath to follow.

European leaders have said they will look to complete the Union's reform agenda despite last week's "no" vote on the Lisbon Treaty in the Irish Republic.

France has outlined a number of issues it wishes to achieve during its six-monthly presidency of the European Union due to begin on July 1.

Telling the French Senate on Tuesday that EU reform "did not stop" with the Irish rejection, France's Europe Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet said:

"The best way for the French presidency to respond to the preoccupations that have just been expressed is to make Europe more political with more common policies," he said.[source]

President Nicolas Sarkozy has flagged immigration reform, cutting carbon emissions, energy security and increasing Europe's defence capabilities as the main priorities to be tackled during the French presidency.