In Germany, world leaders at the G8 summit have apparently dropped efforts to convince the Bush administration to agree to mandatory cuts to greenhouse gases. Earlier today British Prime Minister Tony Blair said leaders are close to agreeing on a deal that would set what he called a substantial reduction of emissions as “a target.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel had campaigned for an agreement that would cut emissions to half 1990 levels by the year 2050. But on Wednesday, President Bush repeated his stance he will only agree to targeted “goals.”

President Bush: “I also come with a strong desire to work with you on a post-Kyoto agreement about how we can achieve major objectives. One, of course, is the reduction of greenhouse gases. Another is to become more energy-independent, in our case from crude oil, from parts of the world where we have got some friends and sometimes we don’t have friends.”