On the same day that Prime Minister Stephen Harper urged world leaders to hold off on new stimulus funding, G8 leaders issued a draft statement emphasizing the need to take action to breath new life into the economy.

Harper is in earthquake-ravaged L'Aquila, Italy for a Group of Eight summit with the heads of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan Russia and the U.S.

In a draft statement issued on Wednesday, the first day of the meetings, the leaders said the global economic outlook "remains uncertain" and pledged to do whatever it takes -- including issuing new stimulus funds -- to strengthen the economy.

Earlier Wednesday, Harper urged leaders to complete the stimulus initiatives that are already underway, before committing new funds.

"My own thought is before there's talk of additional stimulus, I would urge all leaders to focus first on making the stimulus that's announced actually gets delivered," Harper said.

"That's been our focus in Canada and I would urge the same priority elsewhere."

Harper also signalled he will continue to push his message that the temptation for nations to move towards protectionist tendencies should be avoided at all costs, saying such moves could actually prolong the recession.

Harper's position may clash with some other leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who appear to be in favour of committing further funds to the recovery effort.

The G8 summit was originally set to be a held at a resort, but was moved to L'Aquila in order to generate attention and funding for the region, said CTV's Roger Smith, travelling with the prime minister.

He said many local people are still living with the after-effects of the quake which killed 300 people and left 60,000 homeless.

Thousands of residents of the area are still living in tent cities as the reconstruction continues amid aftershocks.

Harper was the first leader to respond to the call for help, Smith said.

"The prime minister announced that Canada would spend $5 Million dollars to help build a new youth centre at the university here and that Canadians would also help raise money privately to help with the reconstruction effort.

G8 on global warming

The G8 leaders agreed to seek dramatic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. They said that global temperatures should be kept from rising by more than 2 degrees Celsius.

"After a long struggle, all of the G8 nations have finally accepted the 2-degree goal," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

But while British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called the group's statement a "historic agreement," the statement is nonbinding and there is no clear path to success.

Environmental groups were quick to say the effort fell far short of what is needed to cut the carbon emissions that mostly come from energy production.