Italy’s Presidency Of The G8 And The Summit In L’aquila

The L’Aquila Summit focused on coordinating a 'green global recovery' and addressing the 2008 financial crisis. Key achievements included a G8 commitment to reduce developed country emissions by 80% or more by 2050 and the establishment of the Heiligendamm – L’Aquila Process (HAP) to formalize ties with the G5. While the summit failed to secure a global 50% emissions reduction target by 2050, it advanced agreements on food security and non-proliferation.

• The L’Aquila Summit established three primary climate objectives ahead of the Copenhagen Conference: limiting global temperature increase to 2°C above pre-industrial levels, reducing developed country greenhouse gas emissions by 80% or more by 2050 (relative to 1990), and achieving a global emissions reduction of at least 50% by 2050.
• While the G8 and Major Economies Forum (MEF) agreed on the 2°C temperature limit and the 80% reduction target for developed nations, the goal of a 50% global emissions reduction by 2050 was not achieved due to resistance from major emerging economies.
• The summit launched the 'L’Aquila Food Security Initiative' (AFSI), signed by 40 leaders, which committed 20 million US$ over three years toward sustainable agricultural development and emergency food aid to address high and volatile food prices.
• To improve the relationship between industrialised and emerging nations, the summit evolved the Heiligendamm Process into the 'Heiligendamm – L’Aquila Process' (HAP), creating a Steering Committee co-chaired by G8 and G5 partners to ensure a more structured and equal dialogue.
• The G8 committed to a series of development measures for Africa, including increasing Official Development Assistance (ODA) by 25 billion US$ annually by 2010 compared to 2004, investing 60 billion US$ to fight infectious diseases by 2012, and signing a first-of-its-kind joint document on water and sanitation.
• The Italian Presidency argued that the G8 remains a vital instrument of global governance despite the rise of the G20, suggesting a gradual transformation of the G8 into a G13 or G14 (including the G5 and Egypt) to increase its legitimacy and represent 71% of global gross output.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2009). Italy’s Presidency Of The G8 And The Summit In L’aquila. https://saiia.org.za/research/speakers-meeting-3-august-2009-italys-presidency-of-the-g8-and-the-summit-in-laquila-2/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Italy’s Presidency Of The G8 And The Summit In L’aquila. 2009. https://saiia.org.za/research/speakers-meeting-3-august-2009-italys-presidency-of-the-g8-and-the-summit-in-laquila-2/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Italy’s Presidency Of The G8 And The Summit In L’aquila |date=21 August 2009 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/speakers-meeting-3-august-2009-italys-presidency-of-the-g8-and-the-summit-in-laquila-2/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2009italys, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Italy’s Presidency Of The G8 And The Summit In L’aquila}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2009}, month = aug, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/speakers-meeting-3-august-2009-italys-presidency-of-the-g8-and-the-summit-in-laquila-2/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }