Tulsa World (November 6, 2009)

As the U.S. Congress continues to struggle over proposals for sharp cuts in greenhouse gases or ways to fund them, European officials said Thursday that they were now striving for a political agreement instead of a new treaty to allow the U.S. and other rich countries to make commitments that are not legally binding.

The revised thinking was an implicit admission of defeat: The two- year timetable for crafting a landmark treaty will miss its deadline, and that failure threatens to deepen the distrust between rich countries and poor countries reeling from drought and failing crops caused by persistently warmer weather.

The treaty was to have been completed in December at a 192- country conference in Copenhagen.

European and U.N. officials are now suggesting a political deal, rather than a legal accord, that would rely on commitments from both wealthy and developing countries. Industrial countries would commit to firm targets for reducing emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide and allocating funds for poor countries, and developing countries would specify their plans for low-carbon growth.

Such a deal would not be legally binding, but it would carry the authority of world leaders who would come to Copenhagen to sign it. Countries would agree to stick to their promises while they continue negotiating the details of a treaty, taking as long as another year.

The delay is significant. The only instrument for controlling carbon emissions, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, expires in 2012. Unless a new treaty is signed by then, no regulations will exist, threatening chaos among industries that rely on predictable rules for their development.

"People are more and more talking about a framework that you clarify further in the following months," said Artur Runge-Metzger, the chief delegate from the European Union Commission.

Despite the U.S. wrangling over legislation, delegates at the U.N. talks in Spain had not given up hope that the Obama administration will bring specific pledges to the final round of negotiations in Copenhagen.

Success at Copenhagen "depends very much on President Obama himself, on whether he can put numbers on the table or not," Runge- Metzger said.

Legislation working its way through the U.S. Congress would reduce U.S. emissions by about 4 percent below 1990 levels. The Europeans and developing countries have complained, however, about Washington's "low ambitions." SUBHEAD: 1 Barcelona, Spain 1 Barcelona, Spain

Originally published by Associated Press.

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