Negotiations at the United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen are making more progress than earlier on Thursday, but an accord is still a long way off.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso is confident the United States will offer increased reductions in its CO2 emissions. At the moment, a US reduction of 17 percent of 2005 levels to be achieved by 2020 is on the table.

This is considerably less than reductions being offered by the European Union and Japan. If the US increases its reductions offer, a Copenhagen accord will be a step closer.

If the US and China can reach agreement on emissions, the chance of an accord will also increase. The two powers are engaged in talks on the issue at the moment.

The negotiations in Copenhagen between the rich nations and those from the developing world appear to be going better. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is pushing the richer nations to join together to mobilise a fund of 100 billion dollars to help developing countries deal with the effects of climate change. African nations have already agreed to the idea.

On Friday, the last day of the Copenhagen conference, 120 government leaders will attend the meeting. This will be the last chance to clinch a deal.

photo: Flickr / Polska Zielona Sieć