The White House yesterday said it had "serious concerns" about the climate change agreement reached in Bali at the weekend, which paved the way for negotiations to start on a new global warming treaty by 2009.

A senior official who was at the talks for the European Union said the criticism was "extraordinary", particularly given that the US delegation had been in touch with the White House "almost minute by minute" throughout the final stages of the talks, which went on well past the Friday deadline into Saturday afternoon.