Negotiators scale back UN climate deal goals

NEGOTIATORS and diplomats were working yesterday on a scaled-back version of a global climate change treaty that could be agreed by next month’s deadline, without firm US commitments.

The idea of forging a political agreement, instead of a legally binding treaty, was becoming a more accepted possibility as negotiators acknowledged some nations, including the United States, would not be ready in time for the December UN climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

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