Italy (AP):

President Barack Obama and his G-8 summit partners held tense discussions yesterday about how both rich and emerging nations can live up to new clean-climate goals adopted by leading industrialised nations.

Nearing six months on the job, Obama has seen a flicker of progress: the chance for a new agreement among developed and developing nations to cap rising global temperatures, plus goodwill from his peers for repositioning the US as a newly aggressive player in the debate.

Same old problem

Yet, sides in this discussion run smack into the same old problem: Neither the wealthy nor the countries whose energy needs are expanding rapidly think the other side is doing enough. And only when the pollution emitters work together on a binding plan will a climate strategy work, experts say.

Even victory came with a setback on Wednesday. The Group of Eight set a goal of cutting all greenhouse-gas emissions in half by 2050, but developing nations refused to go along.

Confronting global warming, a trend scientists say could unleash devastating droughts, floods and disease if left unchecked, is a dominant theme again at this year's G-8 summit of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said yesterday the G-8 countries must come forward with financing for poorer nations to change their carbon-heavy growth patterns and adapt to the effects of global warming. He said the G-8 must do both if developing countries are to cut their own emissions.