US: World's big polluters kick off climate talks in Washington
Fri Sep 18 05:11:26 EST 2009
Thu Sep 17 19:11:26 UTC 2009
WASHINGTON, Sept 17 AFP - Representatives of the world's 17 biggest carbon polluters have kicked off a week of high-stakes talks on climate change with a discussion at the US State Department.
The main aim of the week of meetings is to bridge differences ahead of the UN December 7-18 climate change conference in Copenhagen, where a pact for curbing global warming beyond 2012 -- when Kyoto Protocol obligations on cutting emissions expire -- is to be crafted.
Negotiators will meet for two days at the State Department in Washington, then move to New York next week and then on to Pittsburgh.
The meetings come as Washington tries to resume a leadership role on climate change, and follow a warning from UN chief Ban Ki-moon that world leaders need to "get moving" on climate change.
Representatives from the European Union, France, Italy, Germany and Britain were at the State Department talks on Thursday, along with officials representing Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and host, the United States.
The participants belong to the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, an initiative US President Barack Obama launched in March -- a sharp change from the policies of his predecessor George W Bush, who rejected the Kyoto Protocol, the previous UN framework on climate change.
Together the countries are responsible for 80 per cent of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions.
The talks on Thursday and Friday "will focus primarily on key areas of mitigation, adaptation and technology", the official said.
