ACCRA, Ghana -- The UN's climate chief says talks on a new global-warming agreement have begun to resolve some of the major sticking points.
Yvo de Boer's promising words come after months of sluggish negotiations often marked by confrontation between industrial and developing countries.
De Boer, who in the past has chided delegates for delays, gave an upbeat assessment Wednesday at the end of a weeklong conference of 160 countries in Accra, Ghana.
De Boer said the process has speeded up and that governments are becoming serious about negotiating a result.
Among other things, officials say the delegates found some common ground on ways to help developing countries limit emissions and on devising strategies for compensating poorer countries expected to be especially hard hit by the effects of global warming.
Environmentalists agreed progress had been made. "Accra shows that overcoming the muddle of conflicting views and crafting an effective deal to tackle climate change is possible," said the World Wildlife Fund for Nature.
The Accra conference was the latest round in a two-year process due to end with the signing of an accord in December 2009.
The UN talks aim for a treaty to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which regulates the emissions of 37 industrial countries and sets out ways they can benefit from helping poor countries use clean energy.
The Accra talks made headway on an arrangement that would focus on limiting carbon emissions by specific industries such as steel, cement or power generation. Unlike industrial countries, developing countries would face no binding targets on their economies as a whole.
Delegates also agreed that countries should be compensated for slowing or halting deforestation.
De Boer said the various proposals will be packaged together for the next round of talks in Poland in December.
-- The Associated Press
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