Crunch time at climate talks amid discord on carbon markets

Officials from almost 200 countries scrambled Friday to reach an agreement at a UN climate meeting in Madrid amid growing concerns that key issues may be postponed for another year.

With the prospect of overtime looming, negotiators were poring over revised drafts, aiming to salvage a presentable deal on international carbon markets and aid for poor countries affected by climate change.

Germany's environment minister said a decision overnight by European Union leaders in Brussels to make the bloc " climate neutral" by 2050 would provide a boost to negotiations in the Spanish capital with just hours left before the official end.

"With this, we can convince other major economies to join in and show how they want to reduce carbon emissions," Svenja Schulze told The Associated Press.

While agreeing new, tougher emissions targets for meeting the goals of the 2015 Paris climate accord isn't officially on the agenda in Madrid, observers say a strong signal of ambition will help rally nations ahead of the deadline for doing so next year.

"The European decision was incredibly important," said Helen Mountford of the Washington-based World Resources Institute, an environmental think tank.

"It means that they're coming to the table with a much stronger hand and can really help to deliver what we need on ambition," she said.

Meanwhile, EU countries and others insisted they would prefer not to finalise rules on international carbon markets rather than to approve one that could undermine efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Economists say allowing companies and rich countries to invest in carbon-cutting measures such as rain forest protection in poor countries could become a vital tool for lowering emissions, provided the markets are transparent.

"We are all looking for a compromise," said Frans Timmermans, the European Commission's top official in charge of climate issues. "But there is no way, no way, we could accept a compromise that jeopardises environmental integrity. Just no way."