Talks on a global climate treaty have been "painfully slow" and need to be accelerated or they will fail to reach an agreement in December, Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said today. Governments are due to meet in Copenhagen on December 7-18 to try to reach a climate accord that would replace provisions of the Kyoto Protocol expiring in 2012.

"The sense of urgency is setting in as we approach the deadline," Rasmussen said, according to the text of a speech to an international gathering of parliamentarians at the Danish Parliament. "Negotiations have been ongoing for almost two years and progress has been painfully slow," Rasmussen said. "Clearly, at current speed, we will not make it in the remaining weeks."

Rasmussen said progress had been made on some fronts, such as measures to adapt to climate change, technology and measures related to forestation and deforestation. But he said crucial political questions remain unresolved, including the commitment of industrialised nations to ambitious mid-term targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and developing countries' commitments to national measures to curb growth in their emissions.

Just two more high-level meetings are scheduled before negotiators arrive in Copenhagen for the December conference. In less than a week, energy and climate ministers will meet in Barcelona, and in mid-November another ministerial meeting will be held in Copenhagen as a prelude to the December summit.

Rasmussen said, with the necessary political will, it would still be possible to outline the core elements of an ambitious climate agreement. He urged political leaders to commit themselves to immediately implement any deal made in Copenhagen from the beginning of next year. "I suggest that we lock in the determination to act already by Copenhagen and seek political commitment for immediate implementation," he said. "I believe all the key components of the deal can be achieved in Copenhagen."

He said the Copenhagen agreement should be ambitious, binding and concrete and provide the basis for "world leaders to commit to specific immediate action, starting in January 2010". - Reuters