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Leaders of developed G8 nations are to unveil new efforts to boost food supplies to the hungry, during the final day of their summit in Italy.They are expected to commit as much as $15bn (£9.2bn) to efforts to help poor nations develop their own agriculture.

On Thursday, the second day of talks, the summit focused on climate change.

Leaders from both developed and developing nations agreed that global temperatures should not rise more than 2C above 1900 levels.

That is the level above which, the UN says, the Earth's climate system would become dangerously unstable.

On Friday, the summit in the Italian city of L'Aquila is turning to the issue of food security.

BBC economics correspondent Andrew Walker says the idea is to put more emphasis on helping people feed themselves.




G8 KEY ISSUES/TIMETABLE

• 0630 GMT - crisis' impact on Africa with African leaders attending
• 0830 GMT - food security
• 1100 GMT - final news conference
• G8 members: Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, US

Deal highlights divisions

At a glance: summit agenda

G8 set to tackle hunger in Africa

That is to be achieved with more investment in the agriculture of developing countries, and the G8 are expected to pledge significant resources, our correspondent adds.

However, World Bank President Robert Zoellick, who is at the summit, emphasised that food aid would still be necessary.

Political breakdowns and weather problems will disrupt supplies he said, but he is keen to see more effort made to develop the farming sector.

US President Barack Obama will be meeting representatives of Angola, Algeria, Nigeria and Senegal, before embarking on an African tour later on Friday.

Climate challenge

On Thursday, Mr Obama said the G8 and developing nations had made important strides in dealing with climate change.


See how global temperatures have risen


But the G8 failed to persuade the developing countries to accept targets of cutting emissions by 50% by 2050.

On Wednesday, the G8 agreed its own members would work towards 80% cuts by the same date.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the G8 had not done enough and should also set 2020 targets.

He said that while the G8's Wednesday agreement was welcome, its leaders also needed to establish a strong and ambitious mid-term target for emissions cuts.

RK Pachauri, who chairs the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, praised the declaration's mention of the 2C limit but said more details were needed.

"It certainly doesn't give you a roadmap on how you should get there but at least they've defined the destination," he told the BBC World Service Newshour programme.

BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin says the declaration is a significant step, with all big countries - rich and poor - agreeing there is a scientific limit on the amount we can warm the climate.

But there is still a huge way to go, he says, as developing nations like India will not sign up to any 2050 targets unless rich nations show more determination and offer more cash.







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