Envoys more optimistic for climate treaty

US: Top climate envoys Tuesday said they were more optimistic about sealing a global warming deal this year after a US-led meeting of major economies, but they sparred on the level of their commitments.

US President Barack Obama, who champions aggressive action against global warming, invited negotiators from 17 other major economies including developing powers such as China and India to meet in Washington.

The talks came as the clock ticks to a December meeting in Copenhagen that is meant to approve a new global treaty to slow down the planet's rising temperatures.

"I come out of this meeting a bit more optimistic," Todd Stern, the chief US negotiator on climate change, told reporters.

Stern acknowledged that much of the conversation was general in scope but said it was not a "head-butting exercise."

"Believe me, I'm not trying to oversell," Stern said. "I would not downplay or underestimate the difficulty of getting an agreement in Copenhagen."

His remarks were echoed by German Environmental Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who said: "I'm quite optimistic that we will succeed in December." But he said that emerging countries still did not want to make binding commitments on how much they will cut carbon emissions blamed for global warming.

WASHINGTON, Wednesday, AFP