Blair, Bush & Merkel...

The G8 yesterday agreed to start discussing a replacement for the Kyoto agreement which runs out in 2009 (although cynics would say it ran out of steam ages ago...). German Chacellor Angela Merkel's proposal for a 50% cut by 2050 has been down graded to an item which George Bush will 'seriously consider'.

But what really interested me was the body language. Bush was his usual swaggering, gnomic self, smirking as he spoke. But as Blair and Bush walked up to the cameras, I got them mixed up (we have a small telly). Blair has adopted Bush's swagger wholesale - imitation and flattery and all that. But when he wasn't with his master, the puffed out chest dropped, his brow furrowed and he stumbled under the press questioning. He also put his faith in the techno-fix - obviously not understanding the consumption part of the "sustainable production and consumption" equation.

Merkel looked like a woman putting a brave face on a disappointment (no surprise there...) but Sarkozy couldn't be bothered acting and showed his disdain for the US position openly.

The new talks will include the G8+5 nations - in other words India and China. I hope that the 50% will be applied on a per-head population basis rather than by country, otherwise there is no way these two nations will sign up.