TIANJIN, China, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- The U.N. climate chief is hoping for "step by step" progress as diplomats gather for a key conference in China.
The meeting in Tianjin is the final round of talks before a summit in Cancun, Mexico, at the end of November, the BBC reported.
Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, is not expecting a binding agreement.
"Let me be clear: There is no magic bullet, no one climate agreement that will solve everything right now," she said. "To expect that is naive. However, I am certain the world can do this step by step, but only if we keep on walking firmly in the right direction, including at Cancun."
The agenda in Tianjin will center on industrialized nations' commitments under the 1995 Kyoto Protocol, including further emission reductions after 2012, and preparing a draft negotiating text for Cancun.
"The future of the Kyoto Protocol is in doubt because of U.S. attempts to weaken the framework already in place to tackle climate change internationally," Asad Rehman of Friends of the Earth told the BBC. "And now other countries, including Australia and Japan, are racing to put the lowest possible voluntary pledges on the table."
