Bush sees G8 climate change principles possible

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Monday it is possible that Group of Eight leaders next month will be able to reach agreement on some basic principles on how to confront global climate change.

But Bush, in an interview with Reuters, said he doubted there could be an effective approach to dealing with climate change globally without the participation of major polluters China and India.

The leaders of the United States, Britain, Russia, Canada, Japan and Italy meet on June 6-8 in the Baltic resort town of Heligendamm, Germany, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has put climate change high on the agenda.

Asked if he expected an agreement to come out of the summit, Bush said: "Too early to tell right now. I would hope so. I hope we can reach an agreement on some basic principles ... I think we can reach agreement on principles."

He said he wanted to work with the Europeans, Chinese and Indians to come up with a way forward that reduces greenhouse gasses blamed for global warming without endangering economic growth and promotes environmentally conscious technologies.