"I am confident we can reach a significant agreement," De Boer told AFP on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions, known as the "Summer Davos in Asia", in the Chinese port city of Dalian.

The December 7-18 talks in Denmark, under the 192-nation UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), aim to craft a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

But major differences remain between developed and less developed nations over who should bear the brunt of the responsibility for making carbon emissions cuts.

US climate envoy Todd Stern on Thursday described the ongoing UN-led negotiations as "difficult". The same day, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband warned there was a "real danger" of failure in Copenhagen.

But De Boer, the executive secretary of the UNFCCC, sounded a brighter note.

He hailed the European Union, which has proposed tens of billions of euros (dollars) in global aid for poor nations to fight global warming, as well as what he called Tokyo's "dramatic change of position" on the issue.

Japan's next prime minister Yukio Hatoyama on Monday pledged that his country would seek to cut its emissions by 25 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels -- far more than the eight-percent reduction vowed by outgoing Taro Aso.

The UN official also said that China had "dramatically changed" course on climate change policy, and said the administration of US President Barack Obama, despite Stern's warning, "wants change".

"I am convinced that countries around the planet want to capitalise on this in Copenhagen," De Boer said.

Developing countries such as China and India say rich countries ought to shoulder the main responsibility for mitigating global warming as they have historically emitted most of the greenhouse gases at the root of the problem.

Beijing, which is vying with the United States for the rank of world's worst emitter of greenhouse gases, has so far refused to commit to fixed targets for emission cuts but has vowed to seek a more energy-efficient economy.

"We expect Copenhagen to make clear what developing countries, especially major developing countries, will do to reduce growth of emissions," De Boer said. "We need to gradually increase their level of engagement."

But he acknowledged that poorer nations could not be asked to totally sacrifice their development for the sake of the environment.

"To say 'you cannot grow because climate change is a problem' is not an equitable way forward," De Boer said.

"Industrial nations have basically been growing their economies since the Industrial Revolution and put all that gas out there."

earlier related report
SAfrica must lead efforts to avert climate change: EU
The EU on Friday urged South Africa to lead emerging powers such as China and India to commit to cutting carbon emissions, as world leaders grapple ambitious targets on global warming.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt on Friday opened a summit with South Africa emphasising "the great importance of the role of South Africa in this issue ... for the rest of Africa but also for the rest of big emerging countries."

"It (climate change) is man-made but it can also be thwarted by man by a different way of living. Everybody is affected. Already in Africa we can see the impact of climate change," said Reinfeldt whose country is the current holder of the revolving European Union presidency.

The debate over who should bear the brunt of the responsibility to cut carbon emissions is a major sticking point in the lead-up to the Copenhagen climate summit in December which hopes to thrash out a new climate treaty.

Coal-reliant South Africa on Thursday said it was unrealistic to expect developing nations to set targets for cutting harmful carbon emissions as this would hamper economic growth.

"We think it is unrealistic for us at this stage to set targets. Setting targets now would definitely hamper growth. Developed nations in our view have a much greater responsibility of reducing their emissions," government spokesman Themba Maseko told journalists after a cabinet meeting.

Reinfeldt said the EU would like to see developed nations reduce emissions by 25 to 40 percent from 1999 levels, and developing nations cut 30 percent from current levels.

South Africa relies heavily on coal for its energy requirements, and power giant Eskom is embarking on an ambitious project to build more power stations to fuel the country's growing but energy-strapped economy.

Widespread blackouts last year and regular load-shedding revealed an energy crisis as ailing infrastructure failed to keep pace with growth.

The continental powerhouse is among the world's worst offenders in terms of gas emissions and joins nations such as India and China in pushing for wealthy, industrialised nations to lead the drive in cutting emissions.

Copenhagen is tasked with finding a successor to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol which the United States rejected saying its targets would wreck its economy.

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News