KAMPALA, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The Commonwealth of mostly former British colonies said on Saturday climate change threatened the survival of its small island members but failed to agree on any binding commitments to combat it. A "Climate Action Plan", issued on the second day of a Commonwealth summit, contained only vague language on the way forward in the battle against global warming. The organisation's secretary-general, Don McKinnon, called the agreement "quite a leap forward" but it appeared to stop short of the major statement which many members, led by Britain, had wanted ahead of a world environment summit in Bali next month. The document said that developed industrial countries should take the lead in cutting emissions of greenhouse gases and developing nations, who make up the majority of the Commonwealth, faced constraints. "No strategy or actions to deal with climate change should have the effect of depriving developing countries of ....sustainable economic development." The Kyoto protocol exempts developing nations, including major emitters India and China, from commitments to reduce greenhouse gases. Canada had insisted on Friday that it would sign no agreement in Kampala unless any targets included all major emitters. Disagreement on this issue may explain the vague nature of Saturday's declaration. It called for a post-Kyoto agreement to reduce greenhouse gases but spoke only of "long term aspirational goals for emissions reduction to which all countries would contribute." Environmentalists sharply attacked similar language after recent summits by the G8 industrial nations and the APEC Asia-Pacific group.
