Copenhagen - Denmark, host of next month's United Nations climate change conference, is seeking a political deal with firm commitments, Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Tuesday. Rasmussen said the politically-binding treaty that was envisaged at Copenhagen was to be "very concrete" in terms of emission cuts as well as financing of mitigation efforts.
The Danish premier told reporters that he had conveyed that message to some 40 environment ministers gathered for preparatory talks in Copenhagen ahead of the December summit in the Danish capital.
Hopes for a legally-binding treaty at the December 7-18 summit in Copenhagen have faded, and that was expressed again at a meeting of US and Asian leaders in Singapore over the weekend where Rasmussen also took part Sunday.
The preparatory meeting in Copenhagen - held behind closed doors - included ministers from key emitting countries, including the United States, China and India, as well as African countries and low-lying island nations threatened by global warming and rising sea levels.
Among leaders who have stated that they plan to attend the UN climate conference were Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
