The next round of talks was to be held in Germany in May, but it now appears likely to be pushed back to July to give President Bush's new administration time to become familiar with the issues, Anderson said. The meeting would be part of a series on implementing the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. That agreement committed governments to cut output of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2010. A key point of conflict is a U.S.-led attempt to cushion the blow of cuts by subtracting carbon dioxide absorbed by forests and farmland from countries' reduction quotas. The United States, Canada, Japan, Norway, Australia and New Zealand, known collectively as the Umbrella Group, also want to subtract carbon dioxide absorbed by forests that developed nations plant elsewhere in the world.
Some European governments oppose such credits.
The Europeans had their view, which was more restrictive. British Environment Minister Michael Meacher said Britain and other European countries are skeptical about the Umbrella Group's plan because of uncertainties about the degree of carbon absorption and the effect of forest fires. The fact that Bush has not yet named an environmental negotiator for the United States also impedes progress. Without an agreement, the negative effects of greenhouse gases will only get worse, Greenwood said. And while developed nations argue, concern grows elsewhere, particularly on island states.