Climate summit strives to turn treaty into action

Diplomats from more than 150 countries meet in The Hague, Netherlands, today for talks that will play a major role in determining whether the world slows global warming this decade -- and what the effort might cost U.S. consumers in the form of higher gas, heating oil and electricity prices.

If the talks fail, nations could find it nearly impossible to meet a 2008 deadline to start the battle against global warming.

Many environmentalists are optimistic that negotiators will make progress at the talks. U.S. diplomats, while emphasizing they're eager to attack global warming soon, say they don't expect a quick resolution. ''The fight against climate change is a marathon, not a sprint. . . . No deal is better than a bad deal,'' says David Sandalow, assistant secretary of State and a U.S. negotiator in The Hague.

Most scientists agree that the Earth's average temperature has warmed about 1 degree Fahrenheit since 1900. Many also say they believe that the warming is caused in part by so-called greenhouse gases created by factories and the burning of coal and gas. These gases build up in the atmosphere and trap heat as a greenhouse does. A report written by a United Nations scientific panel and leaked in October said that by 2100, the Earth's average surface temperature could rise 2 to 10 degrees above the 1990 average if no action is taken.

In 11 days of talks at The Hague, diplomats will try to transform into reality a global-warming treaty written in Japan in 1997. 

Known as the Kyoto Protocol, the treaty sets mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions by developed nations, but it is vague on crucial details.

Many countries hope the diplomats meeting in The Hague will fill in enough details to ratify the pact. At least 55 countries, responsible for about 55% of the 1990 carbon-dioxide emissions, must ratify the protocol for it to take effect.

President Clinton hasn't yet submitted the treaty to the U.S. Senate for ratification because many lawmakers oppose the accord and would be almost certain to reject it.

Under the treaty, U.S. negotiators agreed to cut total U.S. emissions of six greenhouse gases from 2008 to 2012 to 7% below 1990 levels. European nations, Japan and other industrialized countries agreed to similar goals.

Economists estimate that the effort to meet the Kyoto targets could drive up prices for electricity and consumer goods. Going into the latest negotiations, U.S. diplomats are staking out positions that would minimize costs. But these positions are unpopular with many environmentalists and other key industrialized nations. Measures under consideration: 

* The Kyoto Protocol includes provisions for ''emissions trading,'' which would allow nations with emissions higher than their targets to buy credits from countries with emissions lower than their targets. 

* The treaty also allows an industrialized nation to earn credits for overseas projects that cut emissions in other countries. 

* The Kyoto pact would give credit for measures that expand forests and farm fields, such as planting trees in deforested areas. Forests and farm fields absorb carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas.

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