The US was last night accused of trying to derail a global agreement on climate change by proposing that it becomes a voluntary agreement where countries set their own targets and ti_meta_bles for reductions of greenhouse gases, rather than a legally binding one.

With just one day left of the 14-day talks in Bali, it looks increasingly likely that no agreement will be reached by ministers. The proposed text, tabled late last night and leaked at around midnight local time, would effectively allow any nation to opt out of the next round of the Kyoto agreement. Observers last night said it could take climate change negotiations back more than a decade.

"These are wrecking tactics," said Keith Allott, Head of Climate Change at WWF-UK. "The stakes are now very high and they are proposing to destroy the protocol completely. The Bush administration is trying to kill real progress."

"This is an extraordinary attempt by the Bush administration to kill off the fight against climate change," said John Sauven, director of Greenpeace UK. "If they get this text through, then it will give a free pass to any nation that wants to keep polluting."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/dec/14/bali.climatechange?gusrc=rss&feed=12