Major economies to seek break on climate talks

AMSTERDAM — Developing countries with big polluting industries are joining the world's wealthiest nations at the G-8 summit this week, trying to unblock troubled climate negotiations just five months before a deadline on limiting global carbon emissions.

The presidents and prime ministers gathering in Italy are expected to consider committing to a firm goal of halving the world's greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century, although disagreement persists on how that should be measured.

They also are discussing how to channel new technologies to rapidly developing economies and how to generate the billions needed to help those nations satisfy their rising needs for power with clean energy.

The 17-nation Major Economies Forum summit in L'Aquila is one of the most important meetings in a year of frenzied diplomacy leading up to a major U.N. conference in Copenhagen in December, where 192 countries are to finalize a successor to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on global warming.

President Barack Obama revived the major economies format last April, convening the most influential players that could sway the U.N. negotiations. Senior officials have met four times to prepare for this summit, focusing mainly on financial issues.

In addition to the Group of Eight rich countries, the forum includes China, which has overtaken the U.S. as the world's biggest polluter, and India, which is close behind. Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, Australia, Korea and the European Union also are in the club.

At their last summit in Japan a year ago, the G-8 committed to reducing carbon emissions 50 percent by 2050. But the vague statement did not specify which year it would take as a base line. U.N. scientists have used 1990 as the starting point, but the United States and Japan are using 2005 levels.

The difference is significant: In the 15 years after 1990, U.S. emissions rose 23 percent.

Yvo de Boer, the top U.N. climate official, said he hoped the major economies will firm up their 2050 commitment at the forum meeting.

"If the (forum) can paint the big picture in terms of a long-term goal, that is important," he told The Associated Press.

Equally important, he said, would be setting midterm goals for 2020 and settling the question of how to fund financing to help poor countries adapt to climate change.

The Kyoto accord required 37 industrial countries to cut emissions by 5 percent by 2012 but made no demands upon developing countries.