China, India Urged to Curb Energy Use

A girl from a poorer neighborhood sits near burning plastic waste on the outskirts of Jammu, India, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007. In India, melting Himalayan glaciers cause floods, while raising a more daunting long-term prospect: the drying up of life-sustaining rivers. The two economic giants, India and China, are becoming increasingly aware of the effects of rising temperatures. (AP Photo/Channi Anand) (Channi Anand - AP)

BALI, Indonesia -- Coal-burning power plants belch pollutants into the air in China, contributing to global warming that experts say has destroyed billions of dollars in crops.

In India, melting Himalayan glaciers cause floods, while raising a more daunting long-term prospect: the drying up of life-sustaining rivers.

The two economic giants are becoming increasingly aware of the effects of rising temperatures. But though they are among the biggest contributors to the problem, both say they will not sign any climate change treaty that would slow the pace of their development.

Meanwhile, the United States, which has pumped more carbon into the atmosphere over time than any other country, says it will continue to oppose mandatory reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, especially if China and India refuse to budge.

The positions of those three countries are pivotal as delegates from 190 nations begin gathering this week on Indonesia's resort island of Bali to discuss a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol, the climate change agreement that expires in 2012.

The goal of the Dec. 3-14 meeting is to head off a scientific forecast of catastrophic droughts and floods, collapsing ice sheets and vanishing coastlines.

"We need everyone to play the game," said Fatih Birol, chief economist at the Paris-based International Energy Agency. If current trends continue, the U.S., China and India would account for more than half the world's carbon emissions by 2015, he added. "Without the big three on board we have no chance whatsoever to fix the climate change problem."

The threat appears worse than it did just a few years ago. A major culprit is coal, which because of its low cost is widely used to generate electricity and run factories in China and India, helping lift millions of people out of poverty.

China plans to add more than 200 coal-fired power plants in the next five years and India, more than 150, said Christopher Bergesen, who tracks power plant construction for Platts, a provider of information on energy markets and issues. He cautioned, however, that exact figures are hard to nail down.

With "the big three" seemingly dead set against mandatory emissions reductions, Birol and others say one of the focuses at Bali should be on developing incentives for China, India and other fast-growing countries to use energy more efficiently and invest in cleaner power, from wind to nuclear.

"Developing nations are looking for support," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the U.N. Environmental Program, adding that they want access to state-of-the art equipment to reduce carbon emissions.

What kind of technology is used when new coal plants are constructed is crucial, because they generally last up to six decades.