EU, Asia set 2009 climate pact deadline

European and Asian foreign ministers agreed to set a 2009 deadline to complete negotiations on a new international climate change pact to limit greenhouse gases, diplomats said Tuesday.

Under the agreement, which came during two-day talks in Hamburg, Germany, Asiancountries including China and India will not have to adhere to binding targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Instead, ministers outlined the responsibilities of richer and poorercountries in combatting climate change, the diplomats said on condition of anonymity.

The meeting of the 40-some ministers, chaired by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, also agreed to co-ordinate the promotion of more sustainable energy use, the diplomats said.

China and India balked at carbon dioxide emissions cuts after the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012.

Diplomats said setting the 2009 deadline goal to reach a new emissions agreement was necessary to avoid a lapse when the Kyoto Protocol expires.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said the EU should not expect developing countries like China or India to share the same burden of cuts as richer nations. He said China "was not to blame for the problem" of climate change, but his country had taken measures to reduce its emissions.

Polluters wary of setting targets

The 27-country EU bloc is eager to get China and other major polluters on board a new climate change pact.Negotiations are scheduled to begin in December in Bali, Indonesia.

Japanese officials have also expressed reservations about setting specific targets in the early stages of negotiations for fear of discouraging major emitters such as the United States, China and India from participating.

Tokyo has said the new pact should be flexible, strike a balance between environmental protection and economic growth, and promote new green technologies.

China has called on the EU to share more green technologies with developingcountries to speed up moves for economies to become more environmentally friendly. Europeancountries have been reluctant to allow more technology transfers to China unless Beijing moves to give more market access for European goods and services.

A U.S. government report issued Tuesday said Asiancountries could reduce a quarter of their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 if they increase renewable energy use, improve coal-fired power plant efficiency and switch to biofuels. However, the report from the U.S. Agency for International Development did not mention setting mandatory greenhouse gas emission cuts, which European countries and many environmentalists say should be part of the solution.

Failing to implement cleaner technologies will result in heat-trapping greenhouse gases more than tripling by 2030 for much of Asia, said the USAID report, the latest dire warning that inaction could be catastrophic for the planet.

With Asia's energy demand soaring, Europe remains eager to promote renewable energies and energy-efficient technologies to cut overall consumption and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The Europeans also need carbon credits from investments in clean energy projects in developing countries to meet their commitments under Kyoto.

The Hamburg talks were seen as an attempt by the EU ally itself with Asian countries as a means of persuading the United States to come on board. The U.S. refused to ratify the 1997 Kyoto Protocol limiting emissions because developing countries were not included. Rising economic giants, China and India, are exempt, and the treaty says nothing about post-2012 cuts.