ROME, April 22 (RIA Novosti) - G8 environment ministers begin a three-day meeting in the Sicilian city of Syracuse on Wednesday.
The G8 environmental forum will look to facilitate dialogue on the issue of climate change, with a view to this December's Copenhagen Conference, which will look to define a global strategy for the post-Kyoto era.
The forum will also be attended by environment ministers from China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, South Africa, Australia, South Korea and Egypt. Representatives of the Czech Republic, which holds the EU rotating presidency, and Denmark, as the host of the Copenhagen Conference, are also due to attend.
A number of international organisations and representatives from civil society will also be present.
"The G8 at Castello Maniace represents a fundamental milestone on the road to the Copenhagen Conference, which will bring together the world's major energy producers and consumers to discuss the question of climate change," the forum's official website quoted Italian Environment Minster Stefania Prestigiacomo as saying.
The forum is also set to focus on the relationship between the environment and health issues, in particular with regard to children.
The meeting is expected to result in a number of documents and proposals that will be later handed over to the heads of G8 member states at their summit in Italy in June.
Last year, the G8 summit in Japan adopted a statement calling for a 50% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
