Merkel accepts defeat on US climate bid

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, on Wednesday accepted defeat in her bid to persuade the US to agree targets for reducing carbon emissions and stabilising global temperatures.

But she secured a commitment from President George W. Bush that the US would work within the United Nations to forge a new global climate change deal to replace the Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012.

Speaking to reporters before the G8 summit’s opening dinner, Ms Merkel said: “We know Europe’s goals will not be shared straight away by the rest of the world.”

The US had earlier banished any remaining hope that it might accept European pressure to set a target of cutting carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2050 and preventing temperatures rising by more than 2°C by the end of the century.

Jim Connaughton, chief environmental adviser to Mr Bush, said there was no international consensus over the European proposals and argued it would be futile to set targets without the support of large developing nations, such as China and India.

But Mr Bush’s pledge to seek a successor to the Kyoto treaty within the existing UN framework represented an important reassurance to Ms Merkel, who had described UN involvement as “non-negotiable”.

Mr Bush last week vowed to work with other large greenhouse gas-producing nations to set a “long-term goal” for reducing emissions within the next 18 months.

The announcement marked a reversal of longstanding US opposition to global carbon regulation but sparked concern in Europe that Washington was seeking to create a rival to the UN process.

On Wednesday, Mr Bush vowed to help narrow differences between Europe and the developing world, particularly China and India, which fear emission caps could threaten their economic development.

“The US can serve as a bridge between some nations who believe that now is the time to come up with a set goal...and those who are reluctant to participate in the dialogue,” he said.

G8 special envoys, or sherpas, were meeting late on Wednesday night to finalise the wording of a joint statement on climate change that Mr Connaughton said could reach 15 pages in length.

He said disagreement over emissions targets should not be allowed to obscure the much larger areas of agreement on issues such as increasing energy efficiency and promoting alternative fuels.

The US is pushing for relaxation of trade tariffs on clean energy technology, reflecting its focus on using innovation rather than regulation to combat global warming.

Mr Bush’s refusal to agree an emissions target was a blow to Tony Blair, who hoped to persuade his Iraq war ally to strike a climate change deal before he steps down as British prime minister later this month.

But Mr Blair’s spokesman said the “most important” objective was to agree a process to replace the Kyoto protocol.

“What’s important is that the Americans have recognised the significance of the issue,” the spokesman said.

Reporting by Fiona Harvey, Bertrand Benoit, Hugh Williamson, Andrew Ward and Jean Eaglesham near Heiligendamm