UN climate chief: Big greenhouse gas cuts needed

DALIAN, China -- Rich countries must commit to deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions if they want China and India to sign onto an accord to curb global warming, the top U.N. climate official said Friday.

"We need to see that leadership from rich countries," said Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, at the World Economic Forum. "Without rich country leadership, we will not get developing country engagement."

Global leaders hope to reach agreement at a U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen in December, but de Boer said negotiations are moving so slowly that it will be impossible to reach a comprehensive deal by then. He said the Copenhagen meeting should aim instead to agree on "key cornerstones" of emissions cuts and how to finance them.

Key sticking points are how much the United States and other industrialized countries can cut emissions and how much developing economies can be expected to reduce the rapid growth of their own. Washington has said it is committed to reaching a deal as long as other major polluters such as China and India do their part as well.

"We need to get clarity in Copenhagen on what developing countries, especially major developing countries like China and India, will do to limit the growth of their emissions," de Boer said at a news conference. "Without developing country engagement, it is impossible for countries like the United States to ratify a Copenhagen agreement."

On Thursday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao indicated Beijing might take a tough line in Copenhagen. In a speech at the World Economic Forum, Wen told foreign business leaders that rich economies have a "historical responsibility" to cut emissions and that any deal should take into account countries' levels of development.

Government leaders are expected to discuss the pact at a special U.N. meeting in New York next month, followed by a gathering of the Group of 20 major economies hosted by President Obama in Pittsburgh.