HEILIGENDAMM, Germany, 8 June 2007 — World leaders agreed yesterday to pursue “substantial” but unspecified cuts in greenhouse gases and pledged to reach a UN deal by 2009 on long-term measures to fight global warming.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, hosting the summit of the Group of Eight (G-8) in the seaside Baltic resort town of Heiligendamm, had hoped to gain commitments from member countries to slash emissions by 50 percent by 2050.

Instead, the club of industrialized nations — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States — agreed that “resolute and concerted international action” on climate change was urgently needed.

The final summit text confirmed that the G-8 would act to stem the rise in global warming gases, followed by “substantial” reductions, the most serious commitment to action on the issue by the United States, the world’s largest polluter.

Leaders also vowed to pursue a new global climate deal by 2009 that would extend and broaden the Kyoto Protocol, noting that the EU, Canada and Japan all want emissions halved by the middle of the century.

New climate proposals unveiled by US President George W. Bush last week would be integrated into the established United Nations process — a key demand of European countries.

“This is clearly not enough to prevent dangerous climate change,” said Daniel Mittler of Greenpeace. “But we welcome that there is a now a serious mandate to start talks on an extension of the Kyoto Protocol.” The language represented a partial victory for Merkel, who has won credit for keeping up pressure on Bush to commit to broader global efforts to curb the gases scientists say risk swelling sea levels and causing more heat waves and flooding. “In my opinion this is a very, very substantial and significant step forward,” Merkel said.

The United Nations welcomed the G-8 commitment. “It’s a very positive outcome,” Yvo de Boer, the head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat in Bonn, said.

Putin Turns Tables on Bush on Missile Plan

Russian President Vladimir Putin turned the tables on Washington yesterday by suggesting the United States use a Russian-controlled radar instead of US anti-missile hardware in central Europe.

At a meeting with US President George W. Bush during a Group of Eight summit, Putin proposed that the United States and Russia jointly use a radar in Azerbaijan as part of an anti-missile shield that would protect all of Europe.

“We can do this automatically, and hence the whole system which is being built as a result will cover not only part of Europe but the entire Europe without an exception,” Putin said.

“This would also... allow us not to redirect our rockets (to targets in Europe) and, on the contrary, allow us to create conditions for joint work,” he said.

In his comments to reporters, Bush did not directly mention the radar plan which may have taken the White House by surprise. “He made some interesting suggestions,” Bush remarked.

Putin vowed last week to target Europe if Washington pressed ahead with its central European missile shield plan. Washington has accused Russia of being uncooperative but Putin’s plan would seem to undermine that criticism.

A Kremlin spokesman explained Putin’s suggestion of using a Russian-operated radar in Azerbaijan would remove the need for any US radar in Eastern Europe.

Washington says it wants to deploy 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic as defense against projectiles launched by “rogue” states. The project has infuriated Moscow which says it will upset the global strategic balance and could be used to launch attack missiles or to spy on Russia. Washington denies this.