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President George W Bush's administration for the past year has insisted it considers climate change an "urgent" threat and is committed to cutting greenhouse-gas emissions blamed for global warming.

 Jim Connaughton, chairman of the council of environmental quality and the White House's chief climate advisor, points to a variety of incentives for clean and renewable energy technologies, as well as the administration's support for higher fuel economy standards for US vehicles.

 And while the US refused to the join the Kyoto Protocol - the world's first attempt to place binding limits on the emissions of developed nations that entered into effect two years ago - it so far remains on board with talks on what happens after Kyoto expires in 2012.

 Those negotiations will be ratcheted up at a highly-anticipated UN conference in Bali, Indonesia from December 3 to 14. The aim of the Bali meeting is to set out a course for reaching a deal by 2009, with the hope that countries will have enough time to ratify the treaty before 2012. Connaughton says the US is firmly behind that goal.

 "We have stated 2009 as a desired end date," he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in a telephone interview. "The prospect of a Bali road map is high."

   But while there may be agreement on the need for a global framework, what the US does not agree on is the method.

 Kyoto placed a series of specific targets for reducing emissions on industrialized nations but left out developing countries - something the US criticised at the time. Connaughton says the US will "work with" emerging polluters like China and India to bring them on board, and help them explore clean alternatives that will not hamper their economic development.

 Connaughton says the White House in principle supports binding international targets in a post-Kyoto framework, but insists the process should be driven by national plans that will dictate those global commitments.

 "There's more than one way to make concrete commitments in an international setting," Connaughton says. "We believe that each of the major economies should come forward with national mid-term commitments ... That's where our focus is."

   In other words, the Kyoto Protocol, which emphasized targets rather than method, got it the wrong way around: "We would prefer to put substance before the process."

   As for what those national plans are, Connaughton believes each country should find its own way. The US has "chosen" an incentive- based approach at the federal level, combined with mandatory commitments on industries that are set at the state level. He rejects the idea that every country should impose nationwide mandatory caps on industrial emissions.

 "We have to be careful to avoid (a) one-size-fits-all solution," he said. "We are seeking the same global goal with a different mix."

   His comments came as legislation was making its way through the US Congress that would impose mandatory limits on the level of greenhouse gases emitted by polluting industries.

 The bipartisan bill introduced last month proposes a cap-and-trade programme, which effectively puts a price on carbon by placing limits on the emissions of individual companies. Heavily polluting industries must make up the difference by buying allowances from lower-emitting competitors.

 The bill has been welcomed by environmental groups and businesses seeking an end to the current patchwork system of state initiatives, which are difficult for companies operating nationwide to manage.

 Connaughton and the White House have opposed mandatory caps on industrial emissions in the past, but have not commented on any individual plans now in Congress.

 Nor did Connaughton say whether the United States would push for binding targets from developing countries such as China, which by some studies has already taken over from the US as the world's largest polluter.

 "There is a significant overlap in views between China and the US in the elements we should be addressing going forward," he says. "They are committed to developing a strong national programme."

   Connaughton says the US is willing to discuss aid and technology transfers to help developing countries lower emissions without hurting their continued development, as well as helping them adapt to some of the inevitable impacts of global warming.

 The United States at Bali will seek a "broad agenda ... in the context of a development agenda," he says. "Let's work with China and India as they develop their future on this."//dpa