The US wants to lead the creation of an international clean energy
technology fund that can be used to finance greenhouse gas reduction projects,
President Bush said Friday in a speech at a US-led climate change summit.

Bush has asked Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to head up the effort and
Paulson "will have initial discussions with countries [that may participate]
in a few weeks," Bush said.

Bush's remarks, on the second and last day of the summit, were intended
to motivate the 18 countries in attendance to set a long-term GHG target that
can be the basis of an international agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol,
which expires after 2012.

He hopes the summit will lay the groundwork for United Nations talks on a
post-Kyoto Framework in Bali, Indonesia, in December. Bush added that to date,
the US and Japan have funded the bulk of international research on clean
energy technology.

Bush also touted the role of US nuclear power in avoiding GHG emissions.
He said that more than 100 nuclear power plants have helped avoid 2 billion
metric tons of CO2 equivalent per year.

Bush praised the world's major economies for agreeing to discuss a
long-term goal. "By setting a goal, we acknowledge there is a problem and by
setting a goal, we acknowledge there needs to be a solution," he said.

The challenge for countries on the intertwined issues of climate change
and energy security is to produce "fewer [GHGs] without undermining our
economies or preventing developing countries from providing for their people,"
Bush said.

White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairman James Connaughton
told Platts that summit delegates would not begin talks on specific targets
until Friday afternoon.

Bush drew applause from delegates when he said that the proper venue for
crafting the next international climate change accord was the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change.

International reaction to the president's speech was limited initially as
EU delegates are set to hold a press briefing later Friday. But John Ashton,
UK climate envoy, called the pace of the summit slow. "We need to finish the
talking about talking," he said.

--Martin Coyne, martin_coyne@platts.com
--Alexander Duncan, alexander_duncan@platts.com