Oxfam International on Monday urged G8 leaders scheduled to meet in Italy this week to take personal responsibility for delivering a fair and adequate global deal to tackle climate change.

Jeremy Hobbs, Oxfam International executive director, said in a statement issued here that only political commitment at the highest level can prevent a human catastrophe posed by climate change.

"It is scandalous that our leaders continue to resist doing what's needed, and within their power, to tackle the climate crisis," he said.

"G8 leaders, who represent the world's richest polluting countries, must take personal responsibility for delivering a global climate deal which has the needs of the world's poorest people at the heart," he added.

The humanitarian organization in a new report, "Suffering the Science - Climate Change, People and Poverty", published on Monday said industrialized countries must cut their emissions by at least 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 and mobilize 150 billion U.S. dollars per year to fund emissions reduction and adaptation in the developing world.

The report, which highlights the effects climate change is having on the world's poor, was published ahead of the G8 Summit in Italy, where climate change and food security are high on the agenda.

It warns that without immediate action, 50 years of development gains in poor countries will be permanently lost. It says that climate-related hunger could be the defining human tragedy of this century.

It said hunger, diseases and natural disasters are likely to increase, especially among the poor because of climate change.

(Xinhua News Agency July 6, 2009)