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.