UN climate change talks open in Bonn

UN climate change talks open in BonnBonn - A United Nations conference on climate change began in Bonn on Monday, bringing together 2,000 delegates from around the world to edge forward negotiations on new climate change measures.

The Bonn talks are the latest in a sequence building up to the Copenhagen summit at the end of the year, at which states hope to sign off a replacement to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires 2012.

The new framework is aimed at reducing the greenhouse gases responsible in part for rising global temperatures, as well as helping those countries most exposed to the effects of climate change.

Many open issues remain. In Bonn, delegates are to take part in "informal consultations," to debate draft proposals and reach common positions.

The US are intensively involved in the discussions, after having rejected the Kyoto Protocol.

In total, 192 nations must sign off the new framework for it to come into effect at the Copenhagen summit. (dpa)