South Korea is expected to ramp up pressure on the European Union to initial a $100 billion trade pact before the end of June at a summit on Saturday before Seoul turns its attentions to a deal with the United States.

A delegation of US lawmakers led by House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi will visit China in coming days to discuss international efforts aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Pelosi, a Democrat, said on Friday that a bipartisan group of House members will be on the trip. However she did not provide details.

The United States will try to persuade rich and poor countries to share the burden of fighting climate change next week, with a big US pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions likely to help mend ties.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Rich nations should cut their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels as part of a new global climate change pact, China said on Thursday, spelling out its stance ahead of negotiations.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a "green new deal" on climate change on Thursday and urged for a final push in negotiations ahead of a key summit to be held in Copenhagen in December.

Rich nations should cut their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels as part of a new global climate change pact, China said on Thursday, spelling out its stance ahead of negotiations.
Photo: Shannon Stapleton

The United States and European Union can pay to transfer to developing countries more than three-quarters of proposed carbon cuts over the next decade, draft and approved rules show.

That reinforces how rich countries may agree in December to tough targets to beat climate change, under a new treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, but avoid costly action themselves.

Rajiv Tikoo
The new minister of environment & forests as well as the minister of new and renewable energy will have an ambitious agenda to follow in the Manmohan Singh government. India's climate change agenda is sure to be tracked strongly against its compulsions to raise its carbon footprint in its efforts to push the growth of GDP.

The European Union and China patched up differences at a summit Wednesday, pledging to create a new global order to combat the financial crisis, dwindling world trade and climate change.

The United Nations issued a range of rival ideas for fighting climate change from rich and poor nations on Wednesday and said the world was "not standing still" in work on a new U.N. treaty.