The 2008 G8 Summit held in Japan this summer is a step in the right direction for establishing international consensus on a host of vitally important issues.

The July summit made significant progress on several fronts, including the economy, the environment and international politics. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who represented Canadian interests at the G8 Summit, said there was a breakthrough agreement among the countries on global warming.

“There is a new consensus on climate change,” said Prime Minister Harper. “The United States and Russia have joined with us this year and now all G8 countries agree on the goal of a 50 percent reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Moreover, G8 leaders have also accepted our longstanding argument that the post-2012 global climate change framework must include all major emitters.”

G8 leaders also participated in the Major Economies Meeting for a discussion between major developed and developing economies to help lay the groundwork for a post-2012 global framework on climate change. The prime minister has been working hard at home and abroad to ensure global warming policies are both rigourous and realistic.

Mr. Harper also pressed his G8 counterparts with a dynamic intervention to condemn recent actions taken by President Robert Mugabe and the Government of Zimbabwe. As a result, the G8 leaders spoke out against Mugabe’s appalling scare tactics to retain power. Mugabe exploited the lowest form of personal politicking, and we should be proud that Canada has taken a stand against this undeserving African government. “We have added the G8’s powerful voice to the global condemnation of the fraudulent election and the illegitimacy of the Mugabe regime,” said Prime Minister Harper.

G8 leaders showed additional solidarity following discussions about the mission in Afghanistan. They endorsed Prime Minister Harper’s call for the international community to “redouble our efforts to build competent, effective, credible Afghan governance and security institutions, and to deal with the problems of the Afghan-Pakistan border.”

The G8 Summit in Japan addressed many other important global issues, including aid for Africa, energy security and food aid. Canada will continue to make major contributions in all these areas by doubling its overall international aid contribution between 2001 and 2010 and doubling aid to Africa in 2008-09.

Following the G8 Summit, the Telegraph newspaper of London, England noted, "Of all the leaders, only Stephen Harper – the talented but curiously neglected Canadian prime minister – is able to point to a popular and successful record in office… Canadian Tories are a model of how to behave during (an economic) downturn… If the rest of the world had comported itself with similar modesty and prudence, we might not be in this mess.”

The July summit is just one more reminder that our federal government is a key player in the world.

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The audio version of Garry's September 1, 2008 op-ed column can be heard by clicking here