"It is over. The report has been accepted. The formal adoption will take place in the morning," Gillet said, adding the delegates would reconvene at 10:00 am (0200 GMT) to give the final stamp of approval.

The delegates, from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, were scheduled to wrap up on Thursday night but a few key sticking points and the sheer complexity of the document put the event into overtime, delegates said.

"We are so tired, so we are going to finish things in the morning," another delegate from a European nation told AFP.

One sticking point subject to debate until the end was a push by China to highlight that the rich world was responsible for the vast bulk of greenhouse gasses that cause global warming, the European delegate said.

Another point of dispute was how much importance to give nuclear energy in the mix of new technologies that the world should depend upon as it moves away from fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases, he said.

The report is the third and last from the IPCC this year, after the first two looked into the evidence and looming devastating impacts of global warming.

It is scheduled to be released to the public at a press conference here at 1:00 pm (0600 GMT).

Although details of the final report were not immediately available, it is widely expected to warn that world leaders have little time to waste in tackling climate change.

However, it will also emphasise that the tools for reducing greenhouse gas emissions already exist and many can be quickly implemented.

A draft summary of the IPCC report seen by AFP calls for a greater use of renewable energies such as solar, wind, and hydro-power, as well as ways to use energy more efficiently.

Storing carbon dioxide, the biggest greenhouse gas, underground is also under consideration, as are tariffs and other economic mechanisms to make using fossil fuels more expensive and renewable energies much cheaper.

Nevertheless, there was fierce debate at the IPCC meeting this week, which began on Monday, and it was not immediately clear as to what had been changed from the draft summary.

The costs of reducing greenhouse gasses that cause global warming was one of the biggest sticking points this week, delegates said previously.

Various delegates contacted by AFP said China has been the leading voice in expressing concern about the costs of cutting back.

It sought more than 10 amendments to the draft report, saying it will cost more and be harder to reduce emissions than detailed in the early draft, according to documents submitted to the IPCC and seen by AFP.

A top priority in tackling climate change is how to cut the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which are measured in parts per million (ppm). Today's levels are close to 400 ppm.

The draft of the report says that if the world wants to stabilise carbon dioxide levels at 640 ppm by 2030, it would cost 0.2 percent of average global gross domestic product (GDP) in that year.

A more ambitious target of 550 ppm, the draft says, would cost 0.6 percent of GDP, and stabilising CO2 in the atmosphere at 445 to 535 ppm by 2030 -- an unlikely scenario -- would be about three percent of GDP.

Environmental groups warn that even at 535 ppm, the world will warm to an extremely dangerous level, causing droughts, floods and other disasters, while at 640 ppm the impacts could be catastrophic.

earlier related report
Wrangle Over Costs At Climate Change Talks
by Charlotte McDonald-Gibson Bangkok (AFP) May 3 - Climate change experts battled for agreement Thursday on how to fight global warming as crucial UN talks here entered their final phase, with China railing against the cost of action, delegates said. Week-long negotiations between scientists from 120 nations are expected to go well into the night here in Bangkok, before the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change unveils its findings on Friday.

It will be the third and last of their reports this year, after the first two looked into the evidence and potential impact of global warming, but countries are struggling to find consensus on exactly what should be done.

The economic impacts of reducing greenhouse gases that cause global warming have proved to be the biggest sticking point, but other issues such as whether to ramp up use of nuclear power have also caused fierce debate, delegates said.

"The costs are the big 100,000-pound gorilla in the room," said a source at the closed-door meeting on Thursday.

Nevertheless, various delegates contacted by AFP said an agreement was still expected to be reached in the early hours Friday.

The final report is likely to say that world leaders have little time to waste, but that the tools for reducing greenhouse gas emissions already exist.

A draft summary of the IPCC report seen by AFP calls for a greater use of renewable energies such as solar, wind, and hydro-power, as well as ways to use energy more efficiently.

Storing carbon dioxide, the biggest greenhouse gas, underground is also under consideration, as are tariffs and other economic mechanisms to make using fossil fuels more expensive and renewable energies much cheaper.

Various delegates contacted by AFP said China has been the leading voice in expressing concern about the costs of cutting greenhouse gases.

It has sought more than 10 amendments to the draft report, saying it will cost more and be harder to reduce greenhouse gas emissions than detailed in the early draft, according to documents submitted to the IPCC and seen by AFP.

"They want the evidence to appear as weak as possible on what we know about cost," one delegate from a European nation said.

One top priority is how to cut the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which are measured in parts per million (ppm). Today's levels are close to 400 ppm.

An early draft of the report seen by AFP says that if the world wants to stabilise carbon dioxide levels at 640 ppm by 2030, it would cost 0.2 percent of average global gross domestic product (GDP) in that year.

A more ambitious target of 550 ppm, the draft says, would cost 0.6 percent of GDP, and stabilising CO2 in the atmosphere at 445 to 535 ppm by 2030 -- an unlikely scenario -- would be about three percent of GDP.

China, which relies heavily on cheap coal to fuel its booming economy, has said in documents submitted to the IPCC that it does not agree with the economic cost estimates.

Environmental groups warn that even at 535 ppm, the world will warm to an extremely dangerous level, causing droughts, floods and other disasters, while at 640 ppm the impacts could be catastrophic.

While countries battle it out over the economic costs, green groups have stressed that the looming environmental devastation should be the top priority.

"The costs for ambitious emissions reduction are very low compared to the dangers caused by climate change if they take no action," said Stephan Singer, European head of climate and energy policy at environmental group WWF.

And although the United States has maintained a relatively low profile at this week's talks while China has come under the spotlight, WWF said the world's superpower was most to blame for global warming.

"They are the biggest culprit and they are the biggest offender of climate," said Singer.

Email This Article

Related Links
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Our Polluted World and Cleaning It Up
China News From SinoDaily.com
Global Trade News
The Economy
All About Solar Energy at SolarDaily.com
Civil Nuclear Energy Science, Technology and News