Persuading Washington to support global efforts to tackle climate change is Britain's main challenge over the coming months, Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Saturday. Global warming is one of Blair's priorities for London's chairmanship of the Group of Eight rich nations this year. "The reality is that unless America comes back in to some form of international consensus, it's very hard to make progress," Blair said when asked if he could get the United States on board over measures to slow global warming. "I hope, and this is the diplomatic challenge for the next few months, I hope we can reestablish that dialogue," he told a conference of his Labour Party in Gateshead, northern England. Blair said last week he believed U.S. President George W. Bush wants to start discussing measures to combat climate change and suggested there may be an agreement during Britain's G8 presidency, to be showcased at a summit in July. Scientists say global warming could have catastrophic consequences, causing ice caps to melt and sea levels to rise. Coastal towns and even cities like London could be submerged. Climate changes could also destroy agriculture and wipe out thousands of species. The United States is the world's biggest polluter but rejects most scientific opinion that mankind is largely to blame for global warming and has withdrawn from the Kyoto Protocol on cutting greenhouse emissions. Blair said he hoped advances in science and technology to increase energy efficiency and concerns about energy supply would help bring the Americans on board.
