U.S. singled out for delay of climate pact

By Gerard Wynn and Alister Doyle - Analysis

BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - The United States is likely to bear the brunt of the blame among recession-hit developed nations for an expected six- to 12-month delay to a new global climate deal hoped for December in Copenhagen.

U.S. failure to match expectations with a carbon target by the December deadline may dent confidence in its power to ever be able to deliver, despite President Barack Obama's strong commitment to fight climate change.

Governments were meant to agree a global deal to succeed the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, the first period of which runs out in 2012, at the December 7-18 meeting in Copenhagen.

But many negotiators say time has run out for the two-year U.N. talks to craft a legally binding text -- especially since the U.S. Senate has not passed a supporting law.

Many delegates on the sidelines of U.N. climate talks in Barcelona, the final preparatory session for the Copenhagen meet, said they were now aiming for a "political deal" in December, with a pact to follow six to 12 months later.

They blamed a long-running rift between rich and poor nations and the financial crisis, but especially rued how the United States had failed to table a formal carbon-cutting target. (Double-click here for related factbox [ID:nL6732806])

"This is probably (a direct result of) the realization that the United States would not come fully into the agreement at Copenhagen," Bruno Sekoli of Lesotho, chair of a group of least developed nations, said in Barcelona.

U.S. negotiators said that their country must be judged on what Obama had achieved in 10 months, including the commitment of $80 billion clean energy funds under America's recovery plans and the progress in U.S. Congress of a draft climate bill.

Former President George W. Bush had not made the issue a priority.

Asked in Barcelona whether the United States would bring some concrete numerical commitments to Copenhagen, head of the U.S. delegation Jonathan Pershing hedged.

"That's a decision yet to be made," he told reporters.

CAN WASHINGTON DELIVER?

A draft climate bill cleared a key U.S. Senate panel on Thursday, but Democrats are likely to fall short of their goal to pass legislation in the full Senate before Copenhagen, as it lacks enough support, making a U.S. offer difficult.

"I find it worrying that Copenhagen is in a way a brick wall that is coming closer and closer, so we need to get that (U.S.) issue resolved, and the amount of time remaining to resolve it is getting less and less," said U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer.

Other developed nations, which have given priority to ending recession, are also facing the anger of the developing world for failing to come up with deep cuts in emissions.