Emissions, climate aid in focus as new round of UN climate talks opens in Qatar

DOHA, Qatar - U.N. talks on a new climate pact have opened in oil and gas-rich Qatar, where negotiators from nearly 200 countries will discuss fighting global warming and helping poor nations adapt to it.

The two-decade-old talks have not fulfilled their main purpose: reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say are warming the planet.

But countries agreed last year to adopt a new climate treaty by 2015. A host of issues need to be resolved by then, including how to spread the burden of emissions cuts between rich and poor countries.

Negotiators gathered Monday for the two week talks will focus on extending the Kyoto Protocol, an emissions deal for industrialized countries, and trying to raise billions of dollars to help developing countries adapt to a shifting climate.