Cheat Sheet: The G-8 Summit

What is the G-8?

Its shorthand for the group of eight leading industrialized countries: Italy, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Canada, Japan, and Germany. The original group had six members that decided to start discussing and coordinating economic policy in the wake of the 1973 oil shock. That G-6 met in France in 1975 and became the G-7 the following year, when Canada joined. Russia participated in G-7 meetings in the years following the breakup of the Soviet Union and joined officially in 1998. Unlike the United Nations or the World Trade Organization (WTO), the G-8 has no offices or permanent staff. The G-8 presidency rotates every year, and the president hosts the annual summit of G-8 leaders. This year, its the United Kingdoms Tony Blairs turn to play host.

But arent there a lot of other G- groups?

Yes, there are. G-groupings are mostly about economics, but they often get the arithmetic wrong. The G-77 is in fact a group of 132 developing countries that aim to promote their economic interests within the United Nations. The G-33 is an alliance of 42 developing countries formed during the 2003 WTO talks in Canc protect its members from subsidized agricultural imports from the United States and Europe. The G-20 brings together industrialized and emerging-market countries, and accounts for more than 90 percent of the worlds economic output. It tries to develop unified positions on international currency and financial systems. And Brazil, Japan, Germany, and India formed the G-4 in 2004 to coordinate their efforts to land spots on the U.N. Security Council.

So what does the G-8 do?

The G-8s main focus is stabilizing and expanding the world economy, but members often work on a wider range of issues. After the 9/11 attacks, for example, G-8 countries signed onto a new initiative to secure nuclear materials vulnerable to theft in the former Soviet Union. This year, G-8 members have discussed the technical obstacles facing the international pedophile tracking system they decided to set up in 2003. Although most of the details are hashed out in pre-summit meetings, the annual summit gets all the attention. Thats where the eight heads of state meet, announce their agreements, and smile for the cameras.

Whats on this years agenda?

The United Kingdom holds the G-8 presidency this year, and Prime Minister Tony Blair has put Africa and climate change at the top of the agenda. With Africa, Blair hopes to stir action on the Millennium Development Goals, which include eradicating extreme poverty and ensuring universal primary education by 2015. The United Nations will review progress on the goals at a special session this fall.

Climate change seems certain to be a lame-duck issue at the summit. The 10 hottest years on record have all been since 1990, but there remains significant disagreement (mainly from the United States) on the causeseven existenceof global warming. The United States was the only G-8 member to reject the Kyoto Protocol, which requires developed countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Dont hold your breath for a statement on climate change thats anything but hot air.

So whats all this I hear about the debt cancellation deal?

On June 11, the finance ministers of the G-8 agreed to forgive the debtstotaling some $40 billionof 18 impoverished nations, 14 of them African. The forgiven debts were owed to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the African Development Bank (AFDB) for development loans. The G-8 countries will refund the World Bank and the AFDB for some of the lost loan revenues they would have received (the United States has pledged to pay as much as $1.75 billion over the next 10 years, and Britain, $960 million), but the IMF will have to swallow its losses. Selling IMF gold reserves to make up for the shortfall was an option, but the United States opposed such a measure because it would lower gold prices. The IMF will cover the losses using existing resources, which will likely mean more money from donors in the coming years.

The debt deal, which is conditional on good government and anticorruption measures, will free up more money for poor countries to spend on healthcare and educationmoney that would have otherwise gone to international lenders. The banks will lend less to poor countries in the next few years as a result, but Blair is hoping to counter those losses with a summit proposal to double aid to Africa.

What about Bono?

Because G-8 countries represent much of the worlds economic power, it draws consistent fire from antiglobalization forces and human rights activists. This year, a coalition of nongovernmental groups led by aging rock star Bob Geldof are making a push for 100 percent debt relief for poor countries, the revision of international trade rules, and a doubling of aid for Africa with a series of music concerts called Live 8. U2s Bono has been an outspoken advocate for AIDS funding, African debt relief, and the reduction of rich-country farm subsidies. The nonprofit he founded in 2002, DATA (Debt, Aids, Trade, Africa), is one of Live 8s sponsors, and U2 will perform in London to support the cause. The concerts will be held in G-8 countries and will include performances by other musicians as well, including Shakira, in Paris; Jay-Z, in Philadelphia; Green Day, in Berlin; and Tim McGraw, in Rome. If this all sounds vaguely familiar, then youre thinking of 1985, when Geldof organized a series of concerts, called Live Aid, which raised more than $100 million for African famine assistance. This time, the focus is raising awareness, not money.