Leaders from the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized countries began their summit on Wednesday, with the economic crisis and climate change at the top of their three-day agenda.

The summit started with a working luncheon, with the bulk of the first-day discussion generally focusing on the troubled global economy.

The G8 leaders, from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and Canada, were expected to issue a statement on the situation of the world economy.

Nearly one year after the financial crisis developed, the world economy remains in a deep recession that has not been seen since World War II.

Thanks to massive stimulus packages put into motion by national governments, however, the G8 finance ministers agreed in June that there are signs of stabilization of their economies, which account for two thirds of the world's total output. The ministers called for appropriate exit strategies to loosen the extraordinary policy measures.

Michael Froman, President Barack Obama's economic adviser, said the summit would be a time for the leaders to get together to assess the effects of the economic recovery effort and decide on additional steps.

The World Bank warned on the eve of the summit that the G8 leaders should not be overly optimistic about a global recovery.

"Yet 2009 remains a dangerous year. Recent gains could be reversed easily, and the pace of recovery in 2010 is far from certain," World Bank President Robert Zoellick said in a letter to the G8 leaders.

The G8 leaders were expected to make a new push for global financial reforms in order to prevent another crisis, but Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the host of the summit, on Friday downplayed any prospect of new rules.

The summit, he said, will be just "one step" in a long process.

That confirms expectations that key decisions on global financial reform are likely to be postponed until the next meeting of the G20 in the US city of Pittsburgh in September.

The Italian government, which holds the G8 presidency, has been particularly interested in a revamping of the global financial system and a rewriting of ground rules for world economic activities.

"The main issues on the Italian presidency's agenda are a response to the global economic and financial crisis, and the restoration of grassroots confidence and a boost to growth on a more solid and balanced basis, also through the definition of new, shared ground rules for economic activities," the government said on its official summit website.

On Thursday, the G8 leaders will be joined by their counterparts from the five emerging economies _ Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa _ under the so-called expanded session of "8 + 5". Egypt was invited to this week's meetings by the Italian presidency to represent Middle East and African countries.

Chinese President Hu Jintao will miss the meetings, however, because he cut short his trip and returned home Wednesday night to deal with the unrest in XinJiang, where violence erupted Sunday and left 156 people dead and more than a thousand injured.

The G8 leaders will try to forge a deal on additional cuts in greenhouse gas emissions in the global fight against climate change.

The summit is considered crucial for a new global pact on climate change to replace the current Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012. The world's governments meet in Copenhagen at the end of this year to wrap up the negotiations.

It had been expected that leaders from the major countries could agree to an overall target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050, with the rich nations reducing theirs by 80 percent.

Differences on burden sharing, however, remain unresolved. Last-minute negotiations appear to be retreating from expectations.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged the industrialized countries to bear up to their "historical responsibility" on climate change before he left Tuesday for the summit.

"What we are witnessing today is the consequence of over two centuries of industrial activity and high consumption lifestyles in the developed world. They have to bear this historical responsibility," Singh said.

On the final day of the summit, leaders and representatives from 40 countries were to consider food security in Africa, another issue high on the agenda.

They are expected to pledge US$10 to 15 billion to help feed the poorest people in the developing countries, Berlusconi said Tuesday.

"We hope to approve an initiative for food security in the world. We will approve about US$10 to 15 billion for all the people in the world who are suffering from hunger," the Italian premier said at a news conference.

A draft declaration to be discussed by the leaders gave a figure of US$15 billion, saying that the United States is ready to give US$3 to 4 billion to the initiative if others contribute the rest.

The G8 leaders also were expected to discuss international hot spots such as Iran and the situations in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

The summit is being held in the central Italian town of L'Aquila, which was devastated by a strong earthquake, with nearly 300 people killed and 1,500 injured. The Italian government wanted to show support for the victims by changing the summit venue to a military school in the earthquake-stricken area.

(Xinhua News Agency July 9, 2009)