At the climate change talks in Bali, Indonesia, last December, the U.S. government agreed to help constitute a new accord to replace the emissions-limiting Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

    However, it is still resisting a global agreement on specific emission reduction from all developed nations.

    At the Honolulu meeting, U.S. officials reiterated that the country has different understandings on mandatory pollution reduction with the rest of the world.

    "We have our own views on the issue," Connaughton said.

    Although doubts of the U.S. motive behind the MEM still remain, delegates said they welcomed the change of the U.S. attitude on climate change.

    Brice LaLonde, the French climate-change ambassador, said the new U.S. attitude is "a good start," though "we want more" from the country.

    After all, just several years ago, President Bush didn't acknowledge the climate change as the result of human activities.

    A major question for the meeting is how much input it can contribute to the UN process.

    Halldor Thorgeirsson, deputy executive secretary of the UNFCCC, remained silent at the press event after the meeting.

    Yvo de Boer, UNFCCC executive secretary, used "could" and "if" to express his expectation for the meeting.

    "The process could make a contribution to the ambitious goals of the UN negotiations," de Boer told the opening session of the meeting Wednesday.

    "If countries represented at the meeting manage to take the Bali decisions to a next stage, process can be accelerated and the ambitious deadline of 2009 can actually be met," he added.

    Nevertheless, the sense of urgency to advance the Bali Roadmap is felt by every participant of the meeting.

    Shaun Vorster, special adviser to the South African environment minister, said the sense of urgency is everywhere throughout the meeting.

    "The clock is ticking," said Koji Tsuruoka, an official from the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

    "There is no time left that the world can lose," de Boer said, adding there is actually little more than one year left to complete negotiations to agree on a new climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol.

    Some 160 representatives from the EU, the United Nations, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Britain and the United States attended the conference.

France urges U.S. to do more in combating climate change

    HONOLULU, United States, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The world expects the United States to take the lead in combating climate change, a French representative said on Thursday.

    The world was waiting for the United States to take the next step in curbing climate change, said Brice Lahonde, French special ambassador for climate change. Full story

U.S. expert proposes "developing phases" to solve climate disputes

    HONOLULU, United States, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- A realistic and feasible way to settle the disputes over the issue of climate change is to work out "developing phases" for developing countries in their effort to achieve modernization, a climate change expert told Xinhua recently. Full story

U.S. officials: Hawaii climate talks held in "good mood"

    HONOLULU, United States, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing climate talks of the world's major economies are being held in a "good mood" in comparison to a previous U.S.-hosted meeting last September, U.S. officials attending the event said Thursday. Full story

Climate change meeting to be concluded with chairman summary

    HONOLULU, United States, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The second round climate meeting of major economies will be concluded with a chairman's summary, an official attending the meeting told Xinhua on Thursday.

    "Delegations from the 16 major economies are discussing the details of the summary," said the official on condition of anonymity, adding many countries have underlined their commitment to contribute to global efforts to deal with the climate change. Full story