Climate talks head for cliff-hanger in November

The international effort to finalise rules which will clear the way for ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases comes to a head in November — but the main competing blocs in the talks looked as divided as ever after a meeting in Lyon, France, on 4-15 September. Major divisions still remain on the role which different carbon "sinks" and the Protocol's three "flexible mechanisms" should play in helping countries meet their emission targets — and there is still no sign of consensus on how the Protocol should be enforced.