Dissension is likely to dominate the two weeks of international negotiations on climate change that are getting underway today in Bonn, Germany. The U.S. and Europe will likely butt heads over emissions trading, which the U.S. wants to use extensively but Europe wants to limit as industrial nations work to meet commitments made in the 1997 Kyoto treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions between 2008 and 2012. Officials at the meeting are expected to focus on other problems, such as the rift between developed and developing nations. Delegates will also discuss penalties for nations that fail to meet treaty guidelines. Final agreement on treaty issues is not expected to be reached until another international meeting set for November 2000 in the Hague. The U.S. has asked for that meeting to be pushed to April 2001, after U.S. presidential elections in November 2000.
