TheEconomist

Faced with melting polar ice caps and worsening droughts, climate experts at a massive U.N. conference Monday urged quick action toward a new international pact stemming an increasingly destructive rise in world temperatures.

A key goal of the two-week conference, which opened with delegates from nearly 190 countries in attendance, will be to draw a skeptical United States into an agreement to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases.

While the U.S. delegation declared it would not be a “roadblock” to a new agreement, Washington remains opposed to steps many other countries support, such as mandatory emissions cuts by rich nations and a target for limiting the rise in global temperatures.

The American position suffered a blow Monday when the new Australian prime minister signed papers to ratify the Kyoto Protocol climate pact. The move leaves the U.S. — the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gases — as the sole industrial country outside Kyoto. (With reports by CNN).

Brazilian Government of president Luis Lula da Silva is expected to annouce in Jacarta, Indonesia, during the United Nations Conference on Global Warming, how and when Brazil is going to cut CO2 emissions, mainly caused by Amazon forest desctruction for economic explotation.

Lula’s Workers Party (PT) has not reahed any agreement with rightwing allied parties in Congresso in order to vote Green Party ’s propositions setting up goals for reducing carbon gas emissions by Brazil, listed as number 4 among large polluters in the world.

Environment minister Marina Silva is expected in Jacarta, as well as representatives of other 190 nations.

Anti-globalization activists plan to  march in front of the main hall of UN conference in Jacarta despite high secutiry measures all over Indonesia ’s capital.