Negotiations Will Precede Heads of State

By ALESSANDRO TORELLO
COPENHAGEN -- The final stretch of the Copenhagen begins Monday with national ministers discussing the text drafted following last week's lower-level negotiations.
The United Nations ended the first week of negotiations Friday by presenting a draft text that would push the world to possibly halve greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050. National ministers will negotiate disagreements over that text at the start of the week -- exploiting their ability to make more decisions on the ground than the diplomats who represented them last week. Finally, on Thursday and Friday, more than 100 government heads, including U.S. President Barack Obama, plan to join the summit to come up with a final deal.
Still to be ironed out is some wording that has industrialized countries worried they will be putting in too much effort to cut emissions compared with developing nations, including China. The text requires them to make commitments to cut carbon emissions by 2020, while poorer countries "may undertake autonomous mitigation actions," aimed at limiting the increase of their emissions. Leaders will also address funding. The U.N. estimates $10 billion a year will be needed through 2012 to jump-start the fight against climate change in developing countries.
Write to Alessandro Torello at alessandro.torello@dowjones.com