U.N. bids to rescue climate deal

A Greenpeace protester wears a mask of Bush and holds a torn paper, symbolising the Kyoto treaty

BERLIN, Germany -- A U.N. conference on global warming begins on Monday to try to rescue the Kyoto greenhouse emissions pact after the U.S. abandoned it as harmful to its economy.

Delegates from some 180 countries are expected to gather in Bonn, Germany, for a new round of bargaining over the treaty.

The Kyoto pact is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. It was negotiated in 1997 by the U.S. and major industrialised nations, but U.S. President George W. Bush has since rejected it.

Scientists believe the gases -- mostly a result of burning fossil fuels -- trap heat into the earth's atmosphere, contributing to global warming, which could cause disastrous weather changes and floods over the next 100 years.

While the EU has decided to ratify the Kyoto treaty next year even without the United States, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is still holding out for the U.S. to participate.

MORE STORIES Analysis: Robin Oakley on the row over Kyoto      IN-DEPTH Climate change   • Bonn deal: Main points   • Q&A: Climate change   • Greenhouse effect   • Regional consequences   • Fossil fuel debate   • Message board   • Quick vote   • News search   In-Depth Specials   • Bonn 2001 summit   • Fallout from Kyoto

Koizumi has not said if Japan would ratify the pact if Washington stays out.

The pact must be ratified by 55 countries accounting for 55 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions in 1990. If Japan pulls out, the target cannot be reached.

The pact was made in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, where industrialised nations agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by an average of five percent of 1990 levels by 2010.

Bush renounced the Kyoto pact in March, saying it was based on questionable science and unfair because it exempts big developing countries like China and India.

This month a new report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change -- a group of scientists convened 13 years ago -- said the Earth is now warming faster than at any time in the previous 1,000 years.

The report said the blanket of heat-trapping gases has already raised ground temperatures by one-half degree Celsius (1.1 F) in the last 100 years, and scientists say the pace could quicken dramatically over the next 100 unless pollution is limited.

The U.S., the biggest emitter of man-made carbon dioxide, produces 36.1 percent of the gas, the EU accounts for 24.2 percent, and Japan is responsible for 8.5 percent.

U.N. and European officials, as well as environmental groups, have expressed dismay over Bush's decision to drop the treaty.

There is resentment among European leaders that Bush broke a pledge made last month to the 15 European Union leaders not to sabotage the Kyoto treaty by urging other countries to spurn the pact, the Washington Post reported.

The Post quoted Margot Wallstrom, the EU's environment chief, as saying: "We were relying on a promise by the Americans not to obstruct the Kyoto process.

"But we can see that the Americans are clearly putting heavy pressure on their partners ... to kill Kyoto."

German Environment Minister Juergen Trittin told The Associated Press recently: "We can't let the country with the biggest emissions of greenhouse gases escape responsibility for protecting the global climate."

Thousands of protesters are expected to converge on the city on the Rhine river for the two-week conference, and Bonn police told the AP they are prepared for violence.

Government delegates are expected to work on a 190-page draft by conference chairman Jan Pronk, the Dutch environment minister, that tries to offer solutions to complex disputes about the treaty's details.

More than 80 countries have signed the Kyoto pact, but no major polluter has ratified the treaty.