World leaders enter climate change fray

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EARTH HOUR: A boy sits on his father's shoulders in front of a globe during the Earth Hour ceremony in Copenhagen.The organisers called for the people of city to turn off their lights for one hour.

COPENHAGEN DEMONSTATIONS: A protester receives help after clashing with police during a demonstration outside the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

PANDA POWER: A protestor dressed in a panda suit takes part a demonstration outside the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

COPENHAGEN WORK OUT: California governor and former action-hero Arnold Schwarzenegger works out while fighting to save the planet.

ENVIRO PRINCE: Britain's Prince Charles urges unity at the opening session of the high-level segment of the UN Climate Change Conference.

DEATH COMES RIDING: Protester at the 2009 Climate Change talks in Copenhagen.

THINGS ARE HEATING UP: Former US Vice President Al Gore wipes his forehead as he speaks at a presentation on melting ice and snow at the UN Climate Change Conference.

CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS: Demonstrators in France add their voices to Copenhagen protests.

VOICES UNITE: Protests across the world, including London, joined demonstrations at the climate change talks in Copenhagen.

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Climate change negotiators are looking to the United States for fresh ideas, and money, as they attempt to salvage a bare-bones political agreement by Friday.

America must find ways of meeting demands by a suspicious world on reducing greenhouse gas emissions without exceeding what Congress will allow, while finding the cash within a tight budget.

"The United States is back and President Barack Obama is coming to Copenhagen to put America on the right side of history," Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Wednesday.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was on her way to Copenhagen on Wednesday (local time) as negotiations over a draft agreement effectively came to a halt after an all-night session that broke up at dawn.

It ended with a confused text leaving most issues to be decided by ministers or heads of government.

Obama is scheduled to arrive in Denmark on Friday, where he will find unresolved the questions of emissions targets for industrial countries, billions of dollars a year in funding for poor countries to contend with climate change, and verifying the actions of emerging powers like China and India to ensure that promises to reduce emissions are kept.

Denmark, presiding at the conference, said it has drawn up a text that it would present when ministers resume talks, but delegates were undecided on the format to hold the negotiations, whether in a full plenary or in small groups.

Formal discussions were suspended before resuming at 10pm local time, met briefly, then adjourned for the night.

"I still believe it's possible to reach a real success," said the UN's top climate official, Yvo de Boer.

"The next 24 hours are absolutely crucial and need to be used productively."

Others were more cautious.

British Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband told the BBC that the climate change talks were "certainly on a knife edge and in real grave danger".

Miliband said that "basically we've spent today arguing about the shape of the table, the nature of the negotiations. Given the very short time there is to go ... that is not a good way to go. It's not what we needed to do today. It now needs leaders, unfortunately, to come in and move this process forward".

In one sign of progress, six countries pledged a total of $3.5 billion over three years - $1 billion from the US - to protect the world's forests. It will be channelled to developing countries that produce plans to slow and eventually reverse deforestation.

But that was just a fraction of a UN-proposed three-year package of at least $30 billion for poor countries to prepare defences against rising seas, drought and other severe effects of global warming, including economic and physical security.

Obama, like most world leaders, is constrained by tough politics at home.

"To pass a bill, we must be able to assure a senator from Ohio that steelworkers in his state won't lose their jobs to India and China because those countries are not participating in a way that is measurable, reportable and verifiable," Kerry said.

"Every American - indeed, I think all citizens - need to know that no country will claim an unfair advantage."

Outside the hall, police fired pepper spray and beat protesters with batons as hundreds of demonstrators sought to disrupt the 193-nation conference, the latest action in days of demonstrations to demand "climate justice" - firm steps to combat global warming.

Police said 260 protesters were detained.

- AP