It's expected, really, that the eight most prosperous and industrialized economies would lead the way on the issue of global warming.

Unfortunately the Group of Eight during its gathering in Japan yesterday agreed to little more than ramped-up rhetoric — at least for now.

The hope raised by nations such as the European Union, Japan and others is that a change in U.S. administration will inspire even greater commitment toward dealing with climate change. That's because the United States — now tied with China as the world's biggest polluter — has stood alone for the past several years in ignoring a call to action.

For now, the G-8 nonbinding agreement supports a "shared vision" for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050.

And while it does provide the groundwork for moving forward with a binding international treaty through the United Nations process, it comes up short on details. For example, the document does not specify whether the baseline for those reductions would be current levels or from 1990 levels. And there are no short-term targets to ensure progress is being made in advance of the 2050 date.

Time is critical. Scientists and The Pew Environmental Group have consistently warned that 80 to 90 percent reductions from current levels is what's required to avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change.

Jim Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said the agreement offers a view of what the long-term goal should be, and achieving that goal would require agreement from "all the other parties." Those parties are major polluters who are not part of the G-8: India, China, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa.

But that does not absolve the G-8 from taking urgent and concrete steps in the fight against global warming.

The question should not just be where China, India and the developing nations sit on climate change. It is: Where is the leadership on this issue?