Tell us something we don`t know.

Finance ministers from the Group of Eight leading nations spent two days in Osaka and all they could comeup with is a statement that rising fuel and commodity prices could hurt global economic growth.

But rather than more talk, the G8 needs to take concrete steps to deal with the situation.

Japan offers an example.

In terms of GDP output per unit of energy, Japan is one of the most efficient of any developed country because of its technology, including hybrid cars, energy-efficient electronics and solar panels.

It also spends more than its friends in the G8 on such research and development.

In 2005, Japan led the world in spending on energy research and development with about US$3.9 billion, followed by the US. with US$3 billion. France and Germany spent about one-sixth of the US., while the U.K spent a paltry US$120 million, according to the latest figures from the International Energy Agency.

According to more recent estimates, spending by the US. hasn’t changed much since 2005 even as oil prices have pushed higher.

So the G8 ought to challenge each other to a new Apollo Program on energy.

Unless governments take immediate steps, the International Energy Agency estimates that crude demand will skyrocket 70% in the next four decades.

To cut oil demand by nearly 30% from 2005 levels, and halve carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 from their current levels, nations would need to spend about $45 trillion through 2050, the IEA says.

Some could be funded from less vital plans like Mars missions, which are estimated to cost around $120 billion by 2020. If energy policy is a national security issue, some of the massive expenditures on weapons research could also be justifiably diverted.

True these are long term steps, but they’ll send a clear signal to speculators. And there are short term moves to make as well.

Regulators ought to raise the margin requirements on oil futures trading. Italian Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti had announced last week he was planning to propose to his G8 counterparts plans to curb speculation on oil markets by raising the margins. France and Germany have also complained about oil speculation.

The US and the UK, which have the world`s two biggest futures markets, opposed Italy’s plan. The Ango-American view, citing market dynamics rather than speculation, prevailed.

If the rise in oil prices isn’t a product of speculation then speculation dampening moves won’t bear fruit and can be repealed.

But if the G8 continues to choose photo-ops over real action, it risks losing its credibility and its leadership on this issue. And that should be worth the grief it causes a few futures traders and oil kingdoms.