Presidential Travel

Climate Change Tops G8 Agenda

Will Obama agree to reductions?

Let the partying begin! President Obama has arrived in Rome for the G-8 summit, though this time Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi may not be in a festive mood: Berlusconi is reportedly furious over a report in the Guardian that his preparations for the summit have been so chaotic that some countries want to boot Italy from the organization. Obama and Michelle went immediately to meet with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. The number one item on the G8 leader's agenda will be greenhouse-gas reduction. According to the Associated Press, "Many foreign leaders want the United States to embrace a target of limiting the rise in average planetary temperatures to 3.6 degrees (2 degrees Celsius) higher than they were in 1900, before widespread industrialization"