Global climate deal still possible: Brazil's Lula

By Raymond Colitt

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday that a global climate deal could still be ready by a December summit in Copenhagen despite differences that resurfaced last week between rich and poor countries.

The Group of Eight leading industrial countries agreed on Wednesday at its annual summit to support a goal of cutting global emissions by 50 percent by 2050 and of reducing emissions in wealthy countries by 80 percent.

Developing countries like China, India and Brazil said more short-term targets were needed to make the pledge credible and called for rich country emissions cuts of 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

Even though the G8 could not agree with the G5 group of key developing nations on the issue at last week's summit in L'Aquila, Italy, "the issue advanced substantially", Lula said in his weekly radio address.

"I think we'll reach an accord for the Copenhagen meeting in December," he added.

The United States signed but never ratified the Kyoto Protocol, a climate treaty to be renewed in global talks culminating in the Copenhagen conference in December.

"The United States is assuming the responsibility to discuss this issue, something they haven't done since the Kyoto Protocol was signed," Lula said.