G8 Gleneagles – Gleneagles Highlights

Here are the highlights of the agreements on Africa and Climate Change made by the G8 leaders at Gleneagles, 6th-8th July 2005.

Africa 

The comprehensive package agreed at Gleneagles will mean faster progress by Africa towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals. This is an important result for Africa. Some of the highlights from the agreement are: 

• A doubling of aid by 2010 - an extra $50 billion worldwide and $25 billion for Africa; 
• Writing-off immediately the debts of 18 of the world’s poorest countries, most of which are in Africa. This is worth $40 billion now, and as much as $55 billion as more countries qualify; 
• Writing off $17 billion of Nigeria’s debt, in the biggest single debt deal ever; 
• A commitment to end all export subsidies. A date for this, probably 2010, should be agreed at the World Trade Organisation’s Ministerial in December. The G8 have also committed to reducing domestic subsidies, which distort trade; 
• Developing countries will “decide, plan and sequence their economic policies to fit with their own development strategies, for which they should be accountable to their people”; 
• As close to universal access to HIV/AIDS treatments as possible by 2010; 
• Funding for treatment and bed nets to fight malaria, saving the lives of over 600,000 children every year; 
• Full funding to totally eradicate Polio from the world; 
• By 2015 all children will have access to good quality, free and compulsory education and to basic health care, free where a country chooses to provide it; 
• Up to an extra 25,000 trained peacekeeping troops, helping the Africa Union to better respond to security challenges like Darfur. 

The Prime Minister said of Gleneagles “It isn't the end of poverty in Africa, but it is the hope that it can be ended.” Tens of millions of lives will be saved and with proper education and healthcare, the children of Africa have a future. 

We must now make sure that what was agreed at Gleneagles is delivered.

The Millennium Review Summit in September and the WTO Ministerial in December offer major opportunities to continue the work started at Gleneagles. Here key issues will include more and better aid, peace and security, the UN’s humanitarian and human rights work and achieving successful, development focussed trade negotiations.

Climate Change

One of the UK government’s two priorities at the Summit was to focus the world’s attention on Climate Change. The G8 leaders agreed that climate change is happening now, that human activity is contributing to it, and that it could affect every part of the world. That global emissions must slow, peak and then decline, moving us towards a low-carbon economy.

It is essential to create an international consensus on the need for further action to control greenhouse gas emissions. Unless global emissions of greenhouse gases are reduced and development is made more resilient to climate change, the gains made on African and global development are put at risk. 

A package of measures was agreed to make energy generation and use more sustainable, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. DFID will work with organisations like the World Bank and the African Development Bank to make sure that major investments in infrastructure or other energy intensive sectors are made more energy efficient. 

The G8 leaders agreed to put procedures in place to help manage the risks from climate change for donor-funded development investments. 

A major focus is on supporting improvements in monitoring climate change in Africa to increase the availability of climate data. Also on improving Africa’s ability to use this data effectively for the planning needs of agriculture, water and healthcare at the local level.

The leaders of the G8 countries agreed these and many more specific commitments. Read the full Africa communiqué(15 kb) , the Climate Change Communiqué(326kb) and Tony Blair’s Chairman's summary(26 kb).