Gas Limits Dumped to Assuage US in Bali Talks

Language softened to break standoff
Posted Dec 14, 2007 3:47 AM CST
Gas Limits Dumped to Assuage US in Bali Talks
Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore addresses the UN Climate Conference Thursday Dec. 13, 2007 in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. Adding to pressure on the United States, Gore said in his address that the U.S. was "principally responsible for obstructing progress here in Bali".(AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)   (Associated Press)

Negotiators at the UN climate conference in Bali eased off goals to limit emissions of greenhouse gases today in an attempt to overcome US opposition, Reuters reports. The compromise draft has removed a specific target of cutting emissions by 25 to 40% by 2020. The Indonesian hosts are hoping softer language will lead to an agreement, but talks may continue past today's deadline.

The new draft  retains a guideline, consistent with the EU-backed 2020 target, that world emissions should peak within 10 to 15 years and be cut by to well below half of 2000 levels by 2050, Reuters says. The US, the top emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, has been strongly opposed to naming any specific figures. (More Bali stories.)

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