DOWNING STREET played down expectations of any breakthrough with President Bush over Africa or climate change as Tony Blair flew into Washington last night.

Officials said there was no point agonising over Gordon Brown’s plans for doubling aid to Africa through his International Finance Facility (IFF) which the White House has made clear does not square with its approach on aid.

The Chancellor has accepted that he will have to wait to see how a much smaller IFF pilot scheme on immunisation fares before convincing the White House to extend it to raise the overall level of aid.

President Bush has also raised objections to a new agreement on climate change, saying he will not sign up to anything that threatens the fuel-dependent US economy.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said yesterday that there was no point in spending the time arguing over areas of disagreement and Mr Blair would instead focus on the G8 agenda in general terms.

“We know the American position on the IFF, and the 0.7 per cent (aid target), and Kyoto. You can either have discussions on areas where you know you are not going to get agreement or you widen the lens and try to see as a whole and try to get agreement on the overall problem,” he said.

“That is the approach we are taking. We fully accept the Americans are right to take a hard-edged approach to aid. Aid has to be spent in a way that improves Africa’s position. It has to be sustainable so that aid put in now should result in less aid at a future date. But it can only be done in a situation in which you have better governance.”

President Bush has opposed the “percentage point” approach to aid. His main policy in this area, the Millennium Challenge Accounts, rewards countries that have cracked down on corruption, introduced transparency and reformed their banking systems.

Mr Blair’s spokesman said that President Bush was clearly committed to Africa, and Britain sympathised with the US approach. “We also recognise what the President has done, trebling (sic) aid from $1 billion to $4 billion. Yes the Prime Minister will want to talk about increased aid, debt relief and trade. But it is in the context of what we agree on, and it will build on what the President has already done.”

Mr Blair will meet President Bush this afternoon at the White House, then have a one-to-one dinner with him this evening.

The visit is part of a whistle-stop tour of G8 members before next month’s summit at Gleneagles.

Hopes are high that a deal will be reached to write down the debts of the poorest African countries to the World Bank.

Mr Brown is quietly optimistic that the Administration will back, in part, his proposals to repay the World Bank for the cancellation of $15 billion (£8 billion) loans.

Although the Chancellor wants the World Bank to be fully compensated, to protect future aid projects, he may have to settle for part repayment. Treasury officials hope that this can be agreed by G7 finance ministers this weekend, leaving the Gleneagles summit to focus on other goals.

Climate change is Mr Blair’s other priority for the G8 presidency, and hopes are rising that President Bush would consider long-term goals on reducing emissions as long as China an India sign up.

Pressure on the Bush Administration to act is mounting from companies, and the insurance sector in particular, worried that they will be overwhelmed by climatic disasters.

Mr Blair is expected to use his dinner with President Bush to explore how far the White House will go if India and China are included.

“It is important to try to reach agreement on what we do to address the issue, both in terms of harnessing new technology and science, and . . . agreeing an action plan for the future,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.

The White House disclosed yesterday that President Bush was planning seperate talks with India after the summit, a sign that an agreement could be on the cards this year.

Explore Music

• CD Reviews

• Live Reviews

• Classical

Editor's choice

• The 100 Best Films of the Decade
• 70 facts you didn't know about Marvel
• The 50 Biggest Movies Of 2010