In advance of the G8 summit July 7-9 in Japan, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released its 2008 report on the G8 countries' progress in addressing climate change.

The G8 Climate Scorecards 2008 found that the U.S. has done the least among the world's eight largest economies to address global warming. The study also said none of the eight countries are making significant enough improvements to prevent temperature increases that would cause catastrophic climate changes.

The report, released on July 3, ranks the G8 countries – the U.S., the U.K., Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Japan and Russia – on indicators such as emissions trends since 1990 and progress toward each country's emissions target under the Kyoto Protocol. The report also examines performance in energy efficiency, renewable energy and development of carbon markets.

The WWF study also looks at the climate and energy policies of five emerging economies: China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa.

The U.S. ranked just below Canada and Russia, while the U.K. topped the list with France and Germany in second and third place, respectively, according to the report. The WWF and Allianz SE, an international financial services provider, commissioned Ecofys, an independent consulting firm, to prepare the report.