SENIOR government officials are confident that President George W Bush will sign up to a G8 statement on climate change at the summit in Scotland this week.

British officials say that although the US president is unlikely to commit to any tangible measures to clamp down on carbon emissions, he may agree to a communiqué declaring that the problem of climate change is a “reality” that must be addressed by the leading industrialised nations.

Sources close to meetings in London this weekend of “sherpas” — officials from all G8 countries — ahead of the summit, report that they are confident Bush will sign up to a “vague” statement of intention “because of his friendship” with Tony Blair.

However, they warned last night that there was still “a lot of work to be done” and feared that Jacques Chirac, the French president, could spoil the agreement by declaring that the Kyoto treaty on climate change, which the Americans have refused to sign, must be the sole basis for action.

“It all depends on what mood Chirac is in on the day,” said a senior government source.

“With George Bush we are hoping he will sign up to a statement like ‘climate change is a reality and we must look to find ways out of the problem by employing new technologies’.

“We think Bush will basically swallow it out of his friendship with Tony Blair.”

The prime minister flew to Saudi Arabia yesterday on an unpublicised mission to talk to the country’s leaders. Blair wants the G8 summit also to issue a statement supporting efforts to reach a peace settlement in the Middle East.

Gordon Brown yesterday hailed the Make Poverty History campaign and Live 8 concerts as “a beacon of hope” for the world, showing “Britain at its best, united as one for a great cause”.

He congratulated campaigners for raising awareness of the need for measures to tackle poverty in Africa and said Make Poverty History had helped to secure 100% debt relief for 38 countries and a doubling of European aid, even before the summit.

Speaking at a rally at the end of yesterday’s public demonstration in Edinburgh, Brown pledged that Britain will continue its campaign for global debt relief for a further 30 poor countries. He added that the UK is already committed unilaterally to writing off its share of these countries’ debts, even if no international agreement is reached.

“Round the world people, whether in rallies or concerts, are coming together in a movement of millions for debt relief, aid and trade justice,” the chancellor said.

“We have come a long way and still have a long way to go. This is more than a week’s work at the G8. It is a lifetime’s work across the world.”

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