Major economies meeting on climate

The US will host a meeting of major economies on April 18-19 in Washington to advance talks on a global deal to fight climate change, the top US climate negotiator said.

Todd Stern said he hoped UN climate talks in 2010 would lead to agreements on six outstanding issues, including financing for poor countries' pollution-control efforts, but he said it was unclear whether a legally binding deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions would be reached this year.

"Is there going to be a legal treaty? I think we don't know that," Mr Stern said.

The Major Economies Forum, which helped nudge big emitters to support a goal of limiting global warming to less than 2C above pre-industrial levels, was not intended to be a negotiating forum to replace the UN, Mr Stern said, reiterating US policy.

Analysts have speculated the forum or other groups would take on a greater role this year in climate negotiations after chaotic UN talks in Copenhagen in December ended without a legally binding pact.

"There is, in general, an increasing pace now of discussions," added Mr Stern, referring to different meetings worldwide on climate change.

The Major Economies Forum groups 17 countries that account for roughly 80 per cent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. The countries have not met on climate issues since the Copenhagen summit.

Mr Stern said Germany would also host a ministerial level meeting of some 40-45 countries on May 2-4.

With only about eight months left before UN-sponsored global negotiations on climate change set for Cancun, Mexico, Mr Stern said countries had not yet worked out basic procedural questions. Those issues, Mr Stern said, will feature during a batch of UN talks beginning in Bonn, Germany, on April 9-11.