UN secretary general says G8 climate efforts insufficient

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday that commitments made by the G8 industrial nations to tackle climate change did not go far enough, according to RIA Novosti.

G8 countries adopted a climate statement on Wednesday, the first day of a summit in Italy`s L`Aquila, in which they agreed rich nations would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 and global cuts would reach at least 50% by the same date.

G8 leaders also said they would attempt to limit global warming to 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels.

However, Ban, who is also at the summit, said the commitments were "not enough."

"The policies that they have stated so far are not enough, not sufficient enough," Ban said, adding that more efforts should be made.