"I really don't view our relationship as one of quid pro quo," Bush told Britain's ITV1 television in an interview. "Tony Blair made decisions on what he thought was best for keeping the peace and winning the war on terror, as I did."

Reports that a last-ditch round of negotiations by G8 officials over the weekend would result in an accord going some way to recognising the science behind global warming were bolstered by French President Jacques Chirac who said on Sunday the G8 leaders were "heading towards an agreement".

A Canadian official said late on Monday there had been "significant progress" on a climate change text, while Britain's top G8 negotiator Sir Michael Jay said he sensed a desire to reach an agreement.

But Bush was cautious and environmental experts said that, rather than risk an open rift, the eight leading nations had decided on an accord offering the barest minimum on global warming.

"If this looks like Kyoto, the answer is 'no'. The Kyoto treaty would have wrecked our economy," Bush said in the interview, recorded last Wednesday and broadcast on Monday.

"I think you can grow your economy and at the same time do a better job of harnessing greenhouse gases. That's exactly what I intend to talk to our partners about," he said.

Blair has made headway on Africa, securing debt write-offs for a clutch of poor countries and boosting aid.

London secured a pledge of German support on Monday, despite rumours that Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder opposed a plan to double aid to developing countries.

Blair "has set a goal to double aid to Africa from 2010 and we are fully supportive of that," German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said after meeting his British counterpart.

But Blair has been stymied on climate change by the United States, the world's biggest polluter, which has been grudging in accepting the world is warming, and rejected the Kyoto Protocol.

All the other G8 powers -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia -- have signed up to the treaty to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, which came into force in February.

NO DEAL YET

A G8 diplomat told Reuters an open split with Washington would be avoided but said officials who had met in London would reconvene in Gleneagles to try to firm up the text.

Another source close to the negotiations said no deal had yet been done on the climate declaration because France wanted more time to examine it in detail.

"Fundamentally the French do not trust the Americans on this," the source told Reuters.

Bush did concede that climate change was "a significant, long-term issue that we've got to deal with" and to "some extent" man-made, evidence perhaps of some shift in ground.

But environmentalists said it appeared the summit would provide little or nothing on actually cutting greenhouse gases.

"This is an utterly insufficient statement from the United States which doesn't even accept the scale of the problem we face, let alone its emergency," said Tony Juniper of pressure group Friends of the Earth.

Rarely has a G8 gathering attracted such global attention.

On Saturday, "Live 8" concerts around the world were attended by more than a million people as the pop world pressured politicians to act over African poverty.

About 2 billion people were thought to have tuned in worldwide, using the Internet, television and radio.

On Monday, about 250 protesters, according to organisers, paraded through the Scottish capital of Edinburgh before being cornered by police in a side street, provoking scuffles.

Britain is confident of progress on its African agenda -- EU states have pledged to boost aid to 0.7 percent of national income by 2015 and 100 percent debt relief has been agreed for 18 of the world's poorest countries while Washington has promised to double aid to Africa, albeit from a low base.

But much of that money may not come through for five years, something aid agencies say will cost countless lives. And on the crucial issue of fairer trade, agreement is far away.

Britain's Jay said trade liberalisation was the toughest issue but the Canadian official said the G8 may produce a statement on trade to give "political impulsion" ahead of world trade talks in Hong Kong in December.