FACTBOX: Bush's evolving policy on global warming

(Reuters) - The Bush administration hosts a summit for "major economies" on energy and climate change in Washington later this week, following a U.N. climate summit in New York on Monday.

Here is a timeline of President George W. Bush's evolving policy on global warming since 2001:

March 28, 2001 - Stating his opposition to the 1997 Kyoto treaty on global warming, Bush says it is against U.S. economic interests and unfair as big developing countries like China and India escape binding emissions pledges.

June 11, 2001 - Shortly before his Europe tour, Bush says it remains uncertain how much of global warming is caused by humans and pledges to use science and diplomacy to fight it.

February 15, 2002 - Bush presents a voluntary plan to slow the growth of heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming and announces tax incentives to businesses for voluntarily reducing emissions.

June 4, 2002 - Bush distances himself from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's report to the United Nations on the negative effect of global warming, saying it was a "bureaucratic" hot air.

October 8, 2004 - Bush, reiterating his stance on the Kyoto Protocol during the presidential race for a second term, says U.S. participation "would have cost America a lot of jobs. It's one of these deals where to be popular in the halls of Europe you sign a treaty."

February 21, 2005 - On his first visit to Europe a month after his second inauguration, Bush sticks to familiar theme on global warming, repeating his call to use new technology to fight the effects of rising temperatures.

July 6, 2005 - Bush for the first time says he recognizes that "an increase in greenhouse gases caused by humans is contributing to the problem" of global warming, during a visit to Denmark on his way to the Group of Eight (G8) summit in Scotland.

January 23, 2007 - Bush mentions global warming for the first time in his State of the Union speech, saying solutions to the problem lie in technological advances and the use of renewable fuels like ethanol.

May 21, 2007 - Bush, in an interview with Reuters, says he doubts there can be an effective approach to dealing with climate change globally without the participation of major polluters China and India.

May 31, 2007 - Bush wants 15 top emitters -- including China and India -- to "work together to develop a long-term global goal to reduce greenhouse gasses" and to agree on it by the end of 2008.

June 6, 2007 - Bush agrees to consider a European plan to combat climate change by halving worldwide emissions by 2050, at a summit of G8 world leaders in Germany.

August 3, 2007 - Bush invites the European Union, the United Nations and 11 industrial and developing countries to the September 27-28 meeting in Washington to discuss the issue.