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Developing economies don't back G-8 climate goal
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

TOYAKO, Japan - A joint gathering of major developed and developing nations on Wednesday agreed that climate change was "one of the great global challenges of our time" and pledged to back a United Nations effort to conclude new climate pact by 2009. The major economies said they supported longterm and midterm goals for greenhouse-gas reductions, but endorsed no targets.

It came a day after the Group of Eight major industrial democracies set a goal of halving heat-trapping emissions that contribute to global warming by 2050.
The U.S.-led, 17-member group issued a final statement on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit in northern Japan.

"We support a shared vision for long-term cooperative action, including a long-term global goal for emission reductions, that assures growth, prosperity, and other aspects of sustainable development," the expanded group said.

But the developing nations invited to the gathering were not ready to go as far as supporting the 50 percent reduction by 2050.
Jim Connaughton, chairman of President Bush's Council of Environmental Quality, said that "several" of the emerging economies were willing to support the target, but not enough to allow that language to be put in the declaration. He did not say which nations.

The White House did not speak of a setback; the fact that the group met as one and vowed to work together to reduce emissions "will give us greater confidence and commitments as we go to next year," said Connaughton.
The expanded group included China and India. They were invited to sit at the table with the Group of Eight: the U.S., Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Canada, Italy and Russia.
The statement on Wednesday also pledged to support a U.N.-led effort to conclude a new global warming pact by the end of next year.
Environmentalists, however, deplored the statement as meaningless without any targets.

"This whole initiative has been a wild goose chase and hasn't brought anything constructive to the U.N. talks," said Antonio Hill, of the aid group Oxfam International, an advocacy group that works on climate change and other causes.
Developing nations such as China and India have criticized the G-8's position statement for failing to state clearly what wealthy nations' commitments are, and that opposition was reflected in the lack of a longterm target in Wednesday's communique among the broader group.
Bush has pushed the so-called Major Economies Meeting to gather the countries most responsible for the greenhouse gases being emitted today.
Critics have attacked the grouping for excluding nations, such as small-island states, who will suffer most from the effects of global warming, such as rising sea levels.

In its own statement, the G-8 did not specify a base year for its proposed 50 percent cut, and the actual emissions reductions and the effect on the environment could vary hugely depending on what is eventually decided. Reductions from 2005 levels, for instance, would be far less than from 1990 levels, as in the Kyoto Protocol on global warming.

Still, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it was essential to set a long-term goal for global greenhouse emissions by 2050. He said the world cannot afford to wait until 2009, when nations are planning to try to conclude a new global warming treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol when its first phase expires in 2012.

The United States has never ratified the Kyoto treaty, with Bush complaining that it puts too much of a burden on the U.S. and other developed countries to reduce emissions while developing giants such as China and India are given a freer rein to pollute even as they vigorously compete with America around the world.

Bush will leave office next January, and both major candidates to succeed him have said they are willing to go further in cutting back American emissions.

The G-8 statement solidified a pledge made at the last summit in Germany a year ago to seriously consider such a long-term target.

But the move fell far short of demands by some developing countries and environmentalists pushing for deeper cuts by 2050 and a firm signal from wealthy countries on what they are willing to do on the much tougher midterm goal of cutting emissions by 2020.

"To be meaningful and credible, a long-term goal must have a base year, it must be underpinned by ambitious midterm targets and actions," said Marthinus van Schalkwyk, South African Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. "As it is expressed in the G-8 statement, the long-term goal is an empty slogan."

July 9, 2008 | 2:25 AM Comments  0 comments

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Top 10 Biggest Interview Mistakes
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic


Hiring managers don't want to hear a lot of things during an interview – confessions of a violent past, a cell phone ring, a toilet flush. Yet job seekers have committed these interview gaffes and worse, according to CareerBuilder.com's annual survey of the worst interview mistakes.

Odd behavior isn't the only way to ruin your chances of landing a job. When hiring managers were asked to name the most common and damaging interview mistakes a candidate can make, 51 percent listed dressing inappropriately. Forty-nine percent cited badmouthing a former boss as the worst offense, while 48 percent said appearing disinterested. Arrogance (44 percent), insufficient answers (30 percent) and not asking good questions (29 percent) were also top answers.

To ensure your interview is smooth and error-free, follow these five tips.

Do some research: When you walk into a job interview, knowledge of the company's history, goals and current activity proves to the interviewer that you are not only prepared for the interview, but also that you want to be a part of the organization.

Don't lie: If the conversation drifts to a topic you're not knowledgeable about, admit you don't know the answer and then explain how you would go about finding a solution. Displaying your problem-solving skills is better than babbling about something you don't understand.

Keep it professional: Although interviewers often try to create a comfortable setting to ease the job seeker's nerves, business decorum shouldn't disappear. Avoid offering personal details that can be controversial or have no relevance to the position, such as political and religious beliefs or stories about a recent break-up.

Know what to expect: Expect to hear staple interview questions: "What's your biggest weakness?" "Why do you want to work here?" "Tell me about yourself." "Why did you leave your last job?" These open-ended questions are harder to answer than they sound, so think about your responses before the interview.

Put on a happy face: The interview is not the time to air your grievances about being wronged by a past boss. How you speak about a previous employer gives the hiring manager an idea of how you'll speak about him or her once you've moved on.

Unfortunately, many job seekers are not only ignoring these tips, they're making mistakes that leave unforgettable impressions for all the wrong reasons. Here are 10 real-life examples from this year's survey:


* Candidate answered cell phone and asked the interviewer to leave her own office because it was a "private" conversation.


* Applicant told the interviewer he wouldn't be able to stay with the job long because he thought he might get an inheritance if his uncle died and his uncle wasn't "looking too good."


* The job seeker asked the interviewer for a ride home after the interview.


* The applicant smelled his armpits on the way to the interview room.


* Candidate said she could not provide a writing sample because all of her writing had been for the CIA and it was "classified."


* Candidate told the interviewer he was fired for beating up his last boss.


* When the applicant was offered food before the interview, he declined saying he didn't want to line his stomach with grease before going out drinking.


* An applicant said she was a "people person" not a "numbers person" – in her interview for an accounting position.


* During a phone interview the candidate flushed the toilet while talking to hiring manager.


* The applicant took out a hair brush and brushed her hair.





July 8, 2008 | 8:09 AM Comments  2 comments

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