By MICHAEL CASEY
The Associated Press
Monday, December 3, 2007; 1:02 PM
BALI, Indonesia -- American delegates at the U.N. climate conference insisted Monday they would not be a "roadblock" to a new international agreement aimed at reducing potentially catastrophic greenhouse gases.
But Washington refused to endorse mandatory emissions cuts, which are seen by many governmental delegations at the meeting as crucial for reining in rising temperatures.
Faced with melting polar ice and worsening droughts, delegates from nearly 190 nations opened the two-week conference with pleas for a new climate pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. That deal required the 36 signatories to cut emissions by 5 percent.
A key goal of the conference will be to draw in a skeptical United States, now the sole industrial power that has refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, citing fears it would hurt the U.S. economy because cuts aren't required of rising economies like those in China and India.
"We're not here to be a roadblock," Harlan L. Watson, a top U.S. climate negotiator, told reporters. "We're committed to a successful conclusion, and we're going to work very constructively to make that happen."
The Americans, however, were forced to repeatedly defend their refusal to embrace emission caps after Australia's new prime minister signed papers Monday to ratify the 1997 Kyoto agreement _ reversing the decision of his nation's previous, conservative government.
Delegates in Bali erupted in applause when Australia's representative, Howard Bamsey, told the session that his country was jumping on board.
Still, the United Nations acknowledged no pact can be effective without the Americans, and the European Union said it expected the U.S. delegation to play a constructive role in the days to come.
"There is no doubt that the U.S. has to play a key role in the post-2012 agreement," said Artur Runge-Metzger, the EU's climate chief. "I think what the rest of the world would like to see is a credible effort, a credible commitment from the side of the U.S. to resolving this major challenge."
Conference leaders urged delegates to move quickly to launch negotiations on a climate agreement that many hope will be completed by 2009.
Among the most contentious issues are whether emission cuts should be mandatory and how much up-and-coming economies like China and India should have to rein in their skyrocketing emissions.
Also on the table are efforts to curb deforestation and help for the world's poorest countries to adapt to a worsening climate.
"The eyes of the world are upon you. There is a huge responsibility for Bali to deliver," said Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the conference. "The world now expects a quantum leap forward."
The conference opened as momentum grows around the globe in support for dramatic steps aimed at stopping a rise in temperatures that many scientists fear could lead to swamped coastal areas and islands, the loss of species, economic havoc and a spike in natural disasters such as storms, forest fires and droughts.
The meeting is the first major climate conference since former Vice President Al Gore _ due to arrive next week _ and a U.N. scientific council were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their environmental work.
Confronted with the past year's scientific reports on the climate problem, the Bush administration has signaled a willingness to play a larger role in negotiations.
The American delegation presented a statement detailing measures the U.S. is taking, such as promoting energy efficiency and cleaner technologies. Yet, it remains opposed to mandatory emission cuts on an international level and scoffed at the notion of taking any action to immediately phase out use of fossil fuels.
The meeting's goal of simply launching negotiations didn't sit well with the Athabaskan Arctic Council's representative.
James Allen said native communities in Canada and Alaska are seeing their ice environment melt away and that the warming climate has also led to an invasion of spruce beetles that has destroyed several hundred acres of forest and led to increasing wildfires.
"We would like to see things happen a lot faster," Allen said. "The effects are happening now. We don't have time to debate these issues. People's lives are at stake."
___
On the Net:
U.N. Climate Change Conference: http://unfccc.int/2860.php