G-20 debates growth, cost of climate change

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland --- The world's top financial officials sought a blueprint Friday for securing future global growth and worked to break a deadlock over who bears the cost of fighting climate change.

Even as the world emerges hesitantly from recession, finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 leading rich and developing countries meeting in Scotland are likely to agree that it is too early to pull the plug on economic stimulus measures.

While Britain remains officially in recession, the United States, Germany and Japan all have recorded renewed growth and the 16-country European zone is expected to do the same when figures are released next week.

British Treasury chief Alistair Darling, the host of the gathering, urged the group to maintain the collective approach forged in more dire circumstances in April and September, arguing that sustainable growth would only come from agreed action to increase trade and boost productivity.

Some countries are more eager to begin sketching out exit strategies to unwind the recent massive government spending, low interest rates and expansion of the money supply that are supporting the world economy. The European Central Bank hinted Thursday that it will soon begin cutting back some of its emergency lending to banks.

There are also disagreements on banking reform, with Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty acknowledging "disparate views" on how to address the problem of banks being too big to fail.

Britain is forcing major bailed-out banks to sell part of their business, while the U.S. has shied away from calls to break up major banks.

"There can be no room for complacency amongst G-20 countries this weekend," Mr. Darling said in a speech in Edinburgh on his way to lead the grouping that represents about 90 percent of the world's wealth, 80 percent of world trade and two-thirds of the world's population.

The other key item on the agenda is the financial cost of climate change.

With the major U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen a month away, Mr. Darling said that "heavy lifting" was needed to push through a deal on so-called climate finance, which would help developing countries cut emissions by switching from fossil fuels to cleaner energy such as wind and solar.