In the lead-up to the G8 summit, Chirac told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine that he would raise issues such as climate change, poverty, pandemics, terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and debt relief for the world's poorest nations.
Chirac said he would propose setting up an environmental organization within the UN through which the global community could take coordinated actions to reduce the impact of greenhouse gases on the environment. He also spoke in favor of broader use of alternative sources of energy, including nuclear fuel and energy-saving technologies.
At 7:30 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. GMT), the leaders of Russia. France, Britain, Germany, Italy, the United States, Canada and Japan will gather for an informal dinner to kick off their annual meeting, this year expected to focus on energy security, education, and the fight against infectious diseases, as well as the latest outbreak of violence in the Middle East and the international standoff over the nuclear programs pursued by Iran and North Korea.
