Tens of billions of dollars are likely to be needed to help poor nations curb greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change under a new U.N. treaty, European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Monday he was confident the world would sign a global deal to combat climate change in Copenhagen in December.

Barroso urged European industry to gear up for a green technology race instead of shoring up outdated, high-carbon business models.

A rise in concentrations of a powerful greenhouse gas over the Arctic after a decade of stability is stirring worries about a possible thaw of vast stores trapped in permafrost, experts said.

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.

The European Union urged Australia on Monday to make deeper cuts to greenhouse gas emissions than it has committed to so far, saying the success of climate change talks this year depended on tougher action from rich nations.

Europe took a surprise step towards reducing its dependence on Russian gas yesterday as two of its oil companies agreed to develop a big gas field in Kurdistan, Iraq's semi-autonomous region.

OMV, of Austria, and Hungary's MOLagreed the deal, which will feed the planned Nabucco pipeline.

Coastal states have now made their bids for vast new areas of continental shelf

The world faces disputes over the seabed from the South China Sea to the North Pole at a May 13 UN deadline for claims meant as a milestone towards the final fixing of maritime boundaries.

Rich nations have outlined "encouraging" cuts in greenhouse gas emissions so far but the United States and others may be able to make tougher curbs, the head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat said on Tuesday.

Russian prosecutors initiated a criminal investigation Tuesday into the use of helicopters to hunt endangered goats by senior officials, a case that has revealed the playtime pleasures of Russia's elite.

Seven people died in a helicopter crash in January, including Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's personal envoy to parliament and a top regional wildlife protection official.