China, the US, the EU, Russia and India are top world emitters of greenhouse gas. Targets they set will go a long way to decide the ambition of a new UN deal to fight global warming due to be agreed in Copenhagen in December.

Rich nations' plans cluster around cuts of roughly 15 per cent below current levels by 2020. Many developing nations are trying to slow the rise of emissions, without caps that they say would stifle economic growth and their drive to end poverty.

United States - President Barack Obama favours cutting US emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 - about 15 per cent below recent levels - and by 80 per cent below 1990 by 2050.

European Union - EU leaders agreed in December to cut emissions 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, a cut of about 14 per cent from recent levels. EU leaders want rich countries to aim to reduce emissions by 60 to 80 per cent by 2050 from 1990 levels.

• Britain has committed to a legally binding target to cut greenhouse gases by 80 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050.

• Germany plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 40 per cent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels.

• Russia: Has not yet set a 2020 goal.

• Japan: Plans to outline 2020 cuts by June. The opposition Democratic Party has promised to cut emissions by 25 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020 if it wins an election due by October.

• Canada: Aims to cut emissions by 20 per cent below 2006 levels by 2020 and envisages cuts of 60 to 70 per cent below 2006 by 2050. Emissions are now more than 20 per cent above 1990 levels.

• Australia: Aims to cut emissions by five per cent below 2000 levels by 2020 and by 15 per cent below 2000 if there is a strong UN pact.

• China: A 2006-10 plan aims to reduce energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 20 per cent, curbing the rise of greenhouse gas emissions. Beijing also plans to quadruple its gross domestic product between 2001 and 2020 while only doubling energy use.

• India: New Delhi says priority must go to economic growth to end poverty while shifting to clean energies, led by solar power. A climate plan last June set no greenhouse caps but said per capita emissions will never exceed those of rich nations.

• Brazil: Planned measures include halving Amazon deforestation over 10 years to avert 4.8 billion tonnes of emissions of carbon dioxide, energy conservation and sustaining the share of renewable energies. Hydropower alone accounts for 77 per cent of electricity generation.

• The Kyoto protocol: Binds industrialised nations except the US to cut emissions on average by at least five per cent below 1990 levels by 2008-12.

• Group of Eight : Leading industrial nations agreed at a G8 summit in Japan in July last year to a "vision" of cutting world emissions of greenhouse gases by 50 per cent by 2050.

• Global: About 190 nations agreed last year to work out a new treaty by the end of this year to succeed Kyoto, comprising deeper emissions cuts by rich nations and action by poor countries to slow their rising emissions.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.