They also stood by the UN's Kyoto Protocol on climate change, which is opposed by the United States. They called on rich countries to take the lead in tackling climate change, both by curbing their emissions of greenhouse gases and helping poorer countries adapt to the threat.

"The removal of trade barriers to products and services of interest to developing countries is essential for development, the fight against poverty and the protection of the environment," said a joint statement issued at the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.

The declaration was signed by the leaders of Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, who were attending on the sidelines of the G8 summit.

The five countries took aim at the use of farm subsidies to promote exports from developed economies, in turn destroying the chance of poorer, agriculture-based nations to compete.

"Trade-distorting domestic support for agriculture in developed countries must be substantially reduced and all forms of export subsidies must be eliminated by a date to be agreed," the declaration said.

The G8 summit - bringing together the leaders of Britain, China, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States - began Wednesday and was scheduled to run until Friday.

On the environment, the Five said "climate change has, and for the foreseeable future, will continue to have a profound effect" on their development prospects.

They stood by the UN's Kyoto Protocol, a pact that requires industrialised nations to trim outputs of carbon emissions caused by the burning of fossil fuels by a timeframe of 2010.

It does not, however, require developing countries to follow suit. Instead, they are being offered financial and other help to help them to take up cleaner energies and adapt to the impact of climate change.

US President George W. Bush is a fierce opponent of Kyoto, declaring its binding targets to be too costly for the US economy and unfair because fast-growing populous countries are not part of the targeted emissions cuts.

But the Five said Kyoto and its parent treaty, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), "establish a regime that adequately addresses" the aspects of climate change.

"Developed countries should therefore take the lead in international action to combat climate change by fully implementing their obligations of reducing emissions and of providing additional financing and the transfer of cleaner, low emission and cost-effective technologies to developing countries," the statement said.

The G8 should devise "innovative mechanisms" to reach this goals, but such work should be carried out under the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol, it said.

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express