So it was in Kyoto, where some 6,000 participants from 161 countries gathered at a United Nations conference on climate change during the first ten days of December. The position of the United States was crucial, since it is the world's biggest polluter. Negotiations to impose legally binding cuts on greenhouse gas emissions were stalled when Vice President Al Gore breezed through Dec. 8. He promised that the U.S. would be more flexible, but offered few details. That confused some, and annoyed others.
China is the world's second-worst offender.
Talks continued late into the night Dec. 10. The U.S. insisted that developing countries take part in any plan to limit greenhouse gases. As Asiaweek went to press, no deal had been reached. That is not as much as environmental activists or even the European Union had proposed. Developed countries might be allowed to trade pollution permits, but some consider this unfair.