Temperatures rise in countdown to global-warming talks By Oliver Burkeman London, November 29, Graphic News: DISAGREEMENTS over binding targets for cutbacks in greenhouse-gas emissions could still paralyse UN-sponsored talks on climate change which begin on Monday (December 1) in the Japanese city of Kyoto. Most scientists agree that gases like carbon dioxide, produced by burning fossil fuels, trap heat inside the earthеs atmosphere causing flooding, as polar ice-caps melt, as well as drought, sickness and crop failure. Negotiators at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit pledged a return to 1990 emissions levels by 2000, but levels continue to rise. The European Union, which is pressing for a reduction to 15 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012, is furious at Japanеs proposal of 5 percent in the same timeframe, and says that U.S. plans for a system of tradeable emissions credits would allow some to avoid any cutbacks. Australiaеs refusal to announce any target prior to the talks also elicited an angry response this week from UK deputy-Prime Minister John Prescott during a four-day visit to the country. дKyoto is about decision time,е he said. дThe question we have to ask ourselves is вWill I be able to look my children and my grandchildren in the eye in 30 years and say, I did my bit to make that change?ге Britain has vowed to reduce its own emissions to 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. But it is the split between the industrialised world, notably the U.S., and developing countries, which is likely to cause the greatest problems. President Clinton is vocal in his support of a return to 1990 levels by 2012, but faces opposition from Congress, which retains the final say on integrating Kyotoеs conclusions into American law. U.S. industry а spearheaded by the Global Climate Coalition, which last month launched a US$15m advertising campaign opposing reductions а fears the loss of its competitive edge if binding targets are not also imposed on energy producers in the developing world like India and Mexico. But those countries insist that richer nations, previously the worst polluters, must act first. Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso said on Wednesday: дThe developing countries must assume their share of the responsibility and not ask us to pay for the destruction they have caused. by a lack of ecological awareness in the past.е Environmental activists are urging politicians not to let their disagreements obscure the urgent need to address the problem а an urgency increased by estimates from the British Meteorological Office this week that 1997 would prove to be the hottest ever recorded. The five warmest years since records began were all in the 1990s. дWorld leaders need to accept that there is a limit to the amount of pollution the atmosphere can take,е said Greenpeace director Chris Rose. дThe sky does indeed have a limit.е /ENDS Sources: ABCNews, The Economist