Prime Minister Paul Martin will lobby U.S. President George W. Bush on climate change at the G8 summit, say his officials -- but they add just getting Bush to acknowledge the reality of the problem would be a big step.

However, getting Bush to sign on to Kyoto Protocol would be unrealistic, they added.

Bush has made it clear in an interview with British TV he won't budge on Kyoto.

Martin's staff held a pre-summit briefing for reporters during the prime minister's trip to Ireland.

They said the leaders won't support the target of providing development aid equivalent to 0.7 per cent of GDP by 2015.

But they will agree to a challenge from British Prime Minister Tony Blair to double aid for Africa, providing $50 billion US by 2010.

 Canada has already agreed to double aid to Africa by 2008-09, along with doubling overall aid by 2010.

That would bring Canada's aid levels to 0.37 per cent of current GDP, up from 0.29 per cent.

In comparison, the U.S. provides 0.16 per cent of its GDP in aid.

Five European countries -- Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and Luxembourg -- have already reached the target. Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Ireland and Finland have pledged to follow suit.

The officials said the aid will be tied to good governance so the money isn't lost to corruption.

Outspoken activists like Bono and Bob Geldof have hammered Martin for refusing to commit to the 0.7 per cent goal, but the prime minister has repeatedly said he will not fix spending targets he's not certain Canadians can afford.

With the prime minister's entourage in Dublin, CTV reporter Tom Kennedy said the weekend's record-setting international Live 8 concert event has drawn unprecedented attention to the G8 summit.

There were also 250,000 protesters in Edinburgh, Scotland on Saturday, Kennedy said, but whether they can ultimately sway the holdout leaders is another matter.

"Certainly, they do have to sit up and take notice, but I think that the impression that people may have -- that this grassroots pressure is irresistible and overwhelming on these leaders -- it may be slightly overstated," he told CTV on Monday.

Martin will join the other leaders in Gleneagles on Wednesday, but he is first spending a few days in Ireland -- the homeland of his ancestors.

Martin arrived late Sunday. He had been in Ireland two weeks before to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the destruction of Air India's Flight 182.

The prime minister began his two-day visit Monday by paying a brief official visit to Irish President Mary McAleese's house. Then, he and his wife Sheila had planned a day of rest and relaxation.

Before he leaves, Martin has scheduled a briefing on the situation in Northern Ireland, a visit to a reconciliation centre, and a meeting Tuesday with his Irish counterpart, Prime Minister Bernie Ahern.