A U.N. climate deal due in December will be a flop unless industrialized nations sharply increase promised cuts in greenhouse gas emissions for 2020, the chair of a key U.N. group said on Wednesday.
John Ashe, who leads work at Aug 10-14 U.N. climate talks looking at planned cuts by rich nations, said existing pledges were far short of the range of 25-40 percent below 1990 levels outlined by a U.N. scientific panel as required to avoid the worst of climate change.
"It would be difficult to fall outside that range and judge the outcome as a success," Ashe told Reuters at the 180-nation meeting. Ashe is also Antigua and Barbuda's ambassador to the United Nations.
EmoticonEmoticon