World leaders tried on Thursday to finalize an agreement on climate change that could bring together the United States, other rich nations and major developing economies such as China and India. Any deal at the Group of Eight (G8) summit in Scotland is unlikely to satisfy environmentalists who want all countries to sign up to binding targets on the carbon emissions that scientists say are causing the world to heat up. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has put the issues of climate change and African poverty at the top of the summit agenda, said the idea was to move beyond the binding Kyoto protocol, which the United States has refused to accept. "There is no point going back over the Kyoto debate ... that's not what it's about," Blair said after talks with U.S. President George W. Bush at the luxury Gleneagles hotel where the summit is being held. "What it is about is seeing whether it will be possible in the future to bring people back into consensus together, not just America and Europe and Japan but also ... the emerging economies like China, like India," he said. "Can we do that? I don't know, but it's important that we at least begin a process of dialogue that allows us to make progress on it." The U.S. has refused to accept any targets which could damage the its economy and says there is no point in agreements which do not include major developing economies such as China and India, whose leaders are attending the summit as guests. Bush urged the world to focus instead on developing new clean technologies. "Now is the time to get beyond the Kyoto period (which ends in 2012) and develop a strategy forward that is inclusive not just of the United States but also of developing nations," he said after his meeting with Blair. "This is an opportunity for those of us who have the capacity to spend research dollars to share information." --more 1248 Local Time 0948 GMT
