U.S. singled out for delay of new global climate pact

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.

“A key area remains the willingness of the developed countries to come up with specific emission reduction targets,” India's Shyam Saran, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's special climate envoy, said on Friday.

“We have no indications so far of what numbers the United States will be bringing to the table. Like many others we are waiting to see what will happen.”

Recession had not sapped momentum from the negotiations, with many rich and developing nations offering fresh climate targets through 2009 including Japan, Indonesia, China and India, said Tom Burke from Imperial College, London.

Failure to deliver a number for the climate change talks would dent U.S. standing in other areas, said Nick Mabey at the London-based think-tank E3G, who saw implications for America's international reputation.

“It would harm the perception of U.S. seriousness and ability to deliver on a global scale,” for example Obama's ability to battle nuclear proliferation, he said.

On Friday in Barcelona, Greenpeace hung a banner reading “Climate chaos: who is to blame?” from a statue of explorer Christopher Columbus, symbolically pointing towards America.

“We single out President Obama because, more than any other head of state, his actions fall short of his promises to take action on climate change,” said Damon Moglen, Greenpeace's U.S. climate director.

Climate negotiators in their most pessimistic moments compare the climate talks with the Doha round of world trade talks. That round launched eight years ago and is struggling to overcome a rich-poor rift — to scale back subsidies in the North in return for market access in the South.

Rich countries accept that they must lead the fight against climate change, but their offers so far will not pare climate change to less dangerous levels, often referred to as 2 degrees Celsius warming above pre-industrial levels, say analysts.

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