G-20 finance officials: "It's too early to end stimulus"

Finance officials from rich and developing countries meeting in St. Andrews, Scotland on Saturday pledged to maintain emergency support for their economies until recovery is assured, but failed to reach a clear agreement to bear the cost of fighting climate change. There was also a mixed reaction among the Group of 20 leading rich and emerging nations to a British-led push to consider a fund for bank bailouts, possibly financed by a tax on financial transactions, to ensure that taxpayers don't bear the brunt of any future rescues. Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan represented Turkey at the meeting. The G-20 – representing around 90 percent of the world's wealth, 80 percent of world trade and two-thirds of the world's population – said in a statement after the meeting that economic recovery is "uneven and remains dependent on policy support." On climate change, the G-20 officials also said they wanted "an ambitious outcome" at a major UN conference in Copenhagen next month, but did not commit to a funding package to help poorer nations adapt to a warming climate. The officials also emphasized the need for quick implementation of banking industry reform, saying that stronger standards should be developed by the end of 2010 that could be put into force by the end of 2012 as financial conditions improve. The G-20 is made up of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the US, and the term EU president.