Environmental group WWF said Wednesday that the first day of the Group of Eight environment summit had ''notably heightened'' its expectations.
''There was a wide convergence on the need to act in a timely and vigorous fashion to stem the climate and ecological crisis that is hitting our planet, putting ecosystems and the lives of entire populations at risk,'' the group said in a statement.
''If the meeting of environment ministers proceeds in the direction indicated this morning, we expect that they will exercise the greatest pressure possible on the leaders who will be present at the (main) G8 summit in July,'' it said.
The group called on industrialised nations to ''state clearly'' their aims for the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in the midterm (by 2020) as well as to help developing nations to move towards low-carbon economies.
WWF International President Kim Carstensen was more pessimistic when he met with journalists on the sidelines of the summit.
''We are not on a good road to find an accord,'' Carstensen said, adding that the crisis was ''double: on climate and on the negotiations''.
''It's necessary to convince the leaders of the most important countries that it's a serious problem that needs definitive solutions,'' he said.
