Another carbon-fuelled gab-fest

More pointless talks about talks, hyped up by AFP as usual:

REPRESENTATIVES of the world's 17 biggest carbon polluters [wrong on both counts - Ed] have kicked off a week of high-stakes talks on climate change with a discussion at the US State Department.

The main aim of the week of meetings is to bridge differences ahead of the UN December 7-18 climate change conference in Copenhagen, where a pact for curbing global warming beyond 2012 - when Kyoto Protocol obligations on cutting emissions expire - is to be crafted [I'll believe it when I see it - Ed].

Negotiators will meet for two days at the State Department in Washington, then move to New York next week and then on to Pittsburgh [I guess they're all travelling around by bicycle? - Ed].

The meetings come as Washington tries to resume a leadership role on climate change, and follow a warning from UN chief Ban Ki-moon [-bat] that world leaders need to "get moving" on climate change.

Read it here.