Leaders set for climate deal stand-off

World leaders attending an annual Pacific Rim summit will call for urgent progress in stalled global trade talks, according to a draft statement, but their officials struggled today to find consensus on another issue – climate change.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard is urging leaders at this year’s meeting of the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum, being held in Sydney, to forge a new international framework on global warming that rejects binding targets for greenhouse gas emissions.

Howard’s proposal, however, has sparked disagreement, with developing countries lining up against the Australian plan.

The Philippines, for example, is set to oppose the proposal in its current form, a senior southeast Asian official said.

Malaysia’s trade minister, Rafidah Aziz, reportedly said last week Australia and the US should back off because they did not ratify an earlier UN-backed agreement on climate change, the Kyoto Protocol.

On trade, senior Apec officials approved a draft of a statement leaders are expected to adopt during the September 8-9 summit that calls for a new push for progress in the current, languishing round of global trade talks.