China grim on prospects for climate change pact

Negotiations seeking a global pact to tackle global warming are troubled and could end in disastrous failure, China's top climate change envoy warned, saying rich countries are failing to deliver on promises.

China is emerging as the world's top emitter of the greenhouse gases that stoke dangerous global warming and plays a key role in talks to address the threat. These are supposed to culminate in a new deal in Copenhagen, Denmark, late next year.

But Yu Qingtai, China's special representative for climate change talks, said he was gloomy about the discussions to create a treaty building on commitments laid out in the Kyoto Protocol's first phase, which expires at the end of 2012.

"As far as the Copenhagen process is concerned, my personal assessment is unfortunately fairly pessimistic... things have moved forward in an extremely difficult way and the progress achieved is extremely limited," Mr Yu said.

In preliminary talks, rich nations had failed to flesh out their promises to give technology and financing help to poorer countries, he said.

The global financial turmoil draining government budgets should not be "used as an excuse by the developed country governments for not meeting their commitments", Mr Yu added.

China's rising greenhouse gas emissions, which experts believe have already or will soon surpass those of the US, have prompted many Western politicians and experts to argue that Beijing must accept mandatory caps if the US and other reluctant countries are to agree to emissions cuts.

Under current agreements, China and other developing countries need not take on greenhouse gas caps under Kyoto.

Mr Yu rejected calls for this to change, instead blaming foot-dragging by richer nations and leaving little doubt that talks leading to Copenhagen will be combative.