•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

Rich and poor countries must “stop pointing fingers’’ and increase their pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions to salvage the faltering talks on a global warming pact, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday.

Ban’s warning in an interview came as world leaders started arriving in Copenhagen, kicking the two-week conference into high gear in its quest to deliver a deal to curb emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

Key issues remain, however, and the conference so far has been marked by sharp disagreements between China and the United States — the world’s two largest carbon gas polluters.

China and other developing countries are resisting US-led attempts to make their emissions cuts binding and open to international scrutiny rather than voluntary. While China says the United States is backing off its commitment to help developing nations deal with climate change, the US contends that China is not a poor nation that needs climate change aid.

Ban said he remains cautiously optimistic about a successful outcome, but warned that negotiators on both sides must work out their differences and not leave it to world leaders to resolve the major problems.

“This is a time where they should exercise the leadership,’’ Ban said. “And this is a time to stop pointing fingers, and this is a time to start looking in the mirror and offering what they can do more, both the developed and the developing countries.’’ 

AP