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OECD work with G8 for the 2009 L'Aquila Summit
is available at www.oecd.org/g8.

7-9 July G8 Summit Toyako, Hokkaido, Japan

This report was prepared by the Sherpas of the dialogue partners. The OECD hosts the Heiligendamm Dialogue Support Unit which is facilitating this process.

In the run-up to the Summit, OECD and its affiliate organisation, the International Energy Agency, worked closely with the Japanese presidency. In May, Secretary-General Angel Gurría gave a speech to G8 Environment ministers and took part in a meeting of G8 Employment and Labour ministers in Niigata, Japan, where he gave a speech about the contribution of labour market and employment policies to addressing the needs of vulnerable workers and areas in a globalising economy. In April, he took part in a meeting of G8 Development ministers.

The OECD traditionally holds its annual Meeting of the OECD Council at Ministerial Level four to six weeks before the G8 Summit in order to facilitate co-ordination and addressed many of the issues being discussed in Japan at its 2008 Ministerial Meeting held on 4-5 June. For more details, visit www.oecd.org/mcm2008.

For OECD work on G8 priorities for 2008 Summit, read below.

Overview of main issues

Environment and climate change

• OECD and globalisation: economics of climate change
  Speech by Secretary-General Angel Gurría on the economics of climate change at Chatham House, UK, on 30 June 2008.
• 2008 Environmental Outlook - how much will it cost to address today's key environmental problems?
  Solutions to the key environmental challenges are available, achievable and affordable, especially when compared to the expected economic growth and the costs and consequences of inaction.
•  Are biofuels as green as they seem? (Video)
  Interview with Martin Von Lampe, OECD agricultural Policy Analyst and author of a report on biofuels, and Fatih Birol, Chief Economist, International Energy Agency.
• What action are OECD countries taking to combat climate change?
  Environment ministers from Denmark, France, Italy, Japan and Mexico explain their national efforts.
• Tackling climate change
  OECD Observer editorial by Secretary-General Angel Gurría.
• Climate change and flooding
  The impact of climate change and urban development could more than triple the number of people around the world exposed to coastal flooding by 2070.
• More OECD work on environment and climate change

Development and Africa

• OECD's Partnership with Africa
  Brochure about OECD's work with Africa, including on the priorities that have emerged from discussions with African leaders at G8 summits.
• International Forum on African Perspectives 2008
  The African Development Bank and OECD's Development Centre hosted the 8th International Forum on African Perspectives in June at the French Ministry of Economy, Industry and Employment.
• African Economic Outlook 2008
  Africa’s average real GDP grew by 5.7 per cent in 2007 and is expected to rise to about 6 per cent in 2008 and in 2009.
• Official development assistance in 2007
  Most donors are not on track to meet their stated commitments to scale up overseas development aid and will need to make unprecedented increases to meet the targets they have set for 2010.
• Development Co-operation Report 2007
  Increased development aid is helping very poor countries. But despite efforts by donor and recipient countries to use aid more effectively, progress is modest and problems such as inequality and climate change are growing.
• Policy Framework for Investment
  Helping to create an environment that is attractive to domestic and foreign investors and that enhances the benefits of investment to society.
• More OECD work on development

The global economy

• FDI from OECD countries jumps 50% in 2007 but set to fall in 2008
  Foreign direct investment (FDI) outflows from OECD countries in 2007 leapt to a record USD 1.82 trillion from USD 1.2 trillion in 2006 but are projected to fall sharply in 2008, according to estimates from the OECD.
• OECD Outlook sees weak growth and inflation remaining high
  Growth is weakening and inflation is likely to remain high across most OECD countries, according to the Economic Outlook. US activity will stay flat through 2008 while the Euro area economy growth will be restrained by tighter credit and lower export market growth.
• Agricultural commodity prices remaining high and growing more volatile
  Agricultural commodity prices should ease from their recent record peaks but over the next 10 years they are expected to average well above the mean of the past decade, according to the OECD/FAO Agricultural Outlook.
• Reform of financial markets
  Fundamental reform of the financial system and its regulation is needed to address the issues highlighted by the current financial markets crisis, according to the OECD Financial Markets Committee.
• Subprime crisis: size, deleveraging and some policy options
  This report reviews previous estimates of losses from subprime mortgages and indicates these could amount to between US$ 350 and 420 billion, what the losses mean for deleveraging in the economy and what policy options there are to deal with the negative economic consequences of deleveraging.
• OECD countries stay open to commercial investments by sovereign wealth funds
  OECD countries are committed to keeping their investment frontiers open to sovereign wealth funds as long as these funds invest for commercial, not political ends.
• Preventing investment protectionism
  A growing number of countries have reassessed their international investment policies in response to national security concerns and the emergence of new categories of foreign investors, including Sovereign Wealth Funds.
• Tax evasion
  Disclosures concerning alleged widespread tax evasion by German citizens through Liechtenstein highlight a much broader challenge in today's globalised economy: how to respond to countries and territories that seek to profit from tax dodging by residents of other jurisdictions.
• More OECD work on the global economy   

Photos

High-resolution	High-resolution	High-resolution
Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD with José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission	Luiz Inacio Lula, President of Brazil, Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD and Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa	Participants of the G8 Summit Toyako, Hokkaido, Japan

© Photos/Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

More OECD photos and multimedia products available at www.oecd.org/multimedia

For further information, journalists are invited to contact Spencer Wilson in OECD's Media Division (mailto: spencer.wilson @ oecd.org or tel. + 33 1 45 24 81 18).

Related Documents

OECD work with G8 (2007 Summit)

OECD work with G8 (2006 Summit)