Accra - The World Wildlife Fund Wednesday said that some progress had been made at week-long United Nations climate change talks concluding in Ghanian capital Accra.

"Governments managed to push their critical discussions closer to conclusions on some key issues," the WWF said in a statement.

"Strategies are shaping up to reduce CO2 emissions from the destruction of forests, and talks about financing deep emission cuts and adaptation to climate impacts gain clarity."

The latest round of climate talks under the auspices of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) got under way in Accra last Thursday, with over 1,000 delegates gathering to iron out the technical details of a new climate change treaty.

Talks in Bangkok in April set up a work programme for a long-term international agreement to be concluded in Copenhagen by the end of 2009.

The Bangkok talks followed on from the landmark Bali Action Plan, which set plans to cut global carbon emissions by 2015 and slash them by 2050, thus reducing the chances of extreme weather events and a rise in sea level brought about by global warming.

Developing and developed nations have been at loggerheads since the Bali breakthrough, with China and Indian saying that developed nations should take the lead in cuts.

The United States and Japan, however, say that the two rapidly developing nations must also agree to cut emissions.

Most observers did not expect any great breakthroughs on targets at the latest round of the talks, which focused largely on drafting proposals to be discussed at the next meeting in Poznan, Poland this December.

However, the WWF said that progressive nations such as Norway, Switzerland, South Korea - which pledged in Accra to set emission reduction targets and boost renewable energies - and some developing nations were showing the way forward.

"Currently the glory in the global fight against climate change is reserved for those progressive governments which are getting the debate further down to the essentials," said Kim Carstensen, Director of the WWF's Global Climate Initiative.

The WWF also criticized the European Union, saying it was losing its role as a leader in battling climate change.

"The EU disappointed in Accra, just like it disappointed at previous talks in Bonn, expressing regret for coming to the negotiation table with empty hands," said Diane McFadzien, Programme Coordinator at the Global Climate Initiative. (dpa)