Top Polluting Nations Unable to Accommodate China and India in Setting Short-Term Emissions Goal. By Krittivas Mukherjee and Randall Palmer, Reuters, July 8, 2009. "The major polluting nations have failed to agree to a goal of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, according to a draft document prepared for Thursday's talks. China and India opposed setting a target... Major nations failed to agree on Wednesday to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, in a setback to efforts to secure a new U.N. climate pact. Talks involving officials from the 17-nation Major Economies Forum (MEF), whose members account for about 80% of global gas emissions, broke down overnight after China and India opposed any mention of the target, a source familiar with the talks told Reuters. However wealthy northern hemisphere countries in the Group of Eight issued a statement saying they were committed to reaching a comprehensive and ambitious climate deal at the U.N. conference in Copenhagen in December. The G8 leaders from the United States, Germany, Japan, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia, who are holding a three day meeting in central Italy, urged other nations to join the fight against global warming... Indian negotiators said there was no deal on greenhouse gas emission reduction targets because rich countries had refused to set mid-term goals or promise finance and technology. 'For any long-term goals there have to be credible mid-term goals in the range of 25-40%,' [said] Dinesh Patnaik, a top Indian negotiator who attended Tuesday's talks."