US 'will reject G8 climate change deal'

The US is preparing to reject new targets on climate change at a G8 summit next month, dashing German and British hopes of brokering a new global pact on reducing carbon emissions, according to a document leaked by environmental campaigners.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, holding the rotating presidency of both the G8 bloc of industrialised nations and the European Union, wants the June meeting to agree targets for cuts in greenhouse gas outputs and a timetable for a major agreement on emissions reduction to succeed the Kyoto Protocol.