Barroso urges leaders to join him at climate talks

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Thursday he will attend global climate talks in Copenhagen in December and he urged world leaders to do the same.

"I will be going to Copenhagen," Barroso told reporters. "There is a clear role for leadership at the highest level if we are to arrive at an agreement in Copenhagen. I very much hope that all leaders are able to come."

The two-week meeting aims to find a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol, the United Nations' main anti-climate change tool that expires in 2012.

Preparatory talks have become deadlocked, largely because the United States remains vague on emissions cuts and financial contributions to poor countries hit by climate change.

U.S. President Barack Obama said he would attend Copenhagen if it would give the impetus necessary to clinch a deal.

(Reporting by Pete Harrison; Editing by Angus MacSwan)