At the G8 Conference next week in Japan, there will be no place for the participating countries to hide their carbon emissions. That's because the World Wildlife Fund has made everyone's dirty laundry very public.

A new report by the environmental group, called G8 Climate Scorecards 2008, highlights the progress, or lack thereof, in taking action on global warming.

The United States ranks lowest, just below Canada and Russia. The United Kingdom ranked highest, followed by France and Germany.

The scorecards measure progress through the metrics of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and development of carbon markets.

America has the highest per capita and absolute emissions among the G8 and WWF rated the U.S. poorly in every category measured. However, the study finds that the United States could make big gains by focusing on energy efficiency and energy R&D programs.

WWF's press release spends a lot of ink saying that the current administration still has time to start changing course on climate. However, these statements seem a little naive considering that one of the defining characteristics of the Bush presidency has been a complete lack of action on global warming.

With President Bush mere months from leaving office, and little evidence of taking a different course, I think it's time to look past the current administration for solutions to one of humanity's biggest challenges.