Blair and Merkel lean on Bush to join battle against climate change

President George Bush is coming under unprecedented pressure from Tony Blair and the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, to agree to tough new international measures to stop global warming accelerating out of control.

The measures are contained in a strongly worded draft communiqué for June's G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany - obtained by The Independent on Sunday - which warns that "tackling climate change is an imperative, not a choice". It adds that if "resolute and concerted international action" is not "urgently" taken, global warming will become "largely unmanageable".

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The United States and Canada are resisting key elements of the draft, but Mrs Merkel is determined not to water it down. She is backed by the Prime Minister, who is ringing Mr Bush weekly to try to persuade him to change his position.

The draft warns that "global warming caused largely by human activities is accelerating" and that it "will seriously damage our common natural environment and severely weaken [the] global economy, with implications for international security".

It says climate change has already progressed so far that the world will "have to face severe impacts" from it, even if immediate action is taken. But it adds that these will become predominantly unmanageable if the rise in temperature is not kept at 2C or below - the maximum increase that most scientists agree can be tolerated.

It promises "strong and early action" to hit this target, and says that this will involve cutting worldwide emissions of greenhouse gases in half by 2050. It commits developed countries to taking the lead, but adds that developing ones will also have to make "fair contributions" to the reduction. And it contains a lengthy section on how to reduce emissions through greater energy efficiency.

The United States is at present refusing to agree to any target for limiting global warming, and the issue will come to a head at a crucial preparatory meeting for the summit on 4 May.