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Blair to join climate experts panel

Tony Blair is joining a group of international experts on climate change in a bid to drive forward efforts to reduce global carbon emissions, it has emerged.

The former prime minister is trying to guide attempts to secure a deal involving, crucially, China and the US in drawing up an action plan to slash emissions by 50% by 2050.

In a broadcast on his personal website, Mr Blair said: "At the big G8 summit of last year everybody agreed that climate change is a serious problem, everybody agreed we need a new global deal once the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012."

He said: "And everybody agreed that everybody should be part of it - including America and China.

"What this means is that there is a consensus now right across the world that we need a new global deal and at the heart of it there has got to be a substantial cut in emissions."

The initiative - which will feature Sir Nicholas Stern, who conducted a review for the Government on the economic costs of climate change - will be launched in Japan this weekend.

Mr Blair will be joined by experts from China, Japan, the US and Europe.

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