Breaking the climate change deadlock

On July 9, leaders of the world's largest economies will meet in L'Aquila, Italy, at the Major Economies Forum (MEF) to discuss progress toward a new global climate agreement. In six months, a deal is supposed to be struck in Copenhagen, so the MEF meeting comes at a vital moment.

When many of the same leaders met in April to address the global economic crisis, they rightly pledged to do "whatever is necessary". The same spirit needs to animate the L'Aquila meeting.

There is enormous goodwill to do so. The new US administration is supporting strong American action. China is setting ambitious targets for reducing energy intensity and making massive investments in renewable energy. India has put forward its own action plan. Europe has set a goal of cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 if there is an ambitious global agreement. Japan has published its proposals for major carbon reductions. Across the world, commitments are forthcoming.