Foreign Ministers from over 40 Asian, European countries on Tuesday pledged cooperation on climate change and stressed the need for an international climate protection accord to be agreed before the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

"The Meeting stressed the need for a global and comprehensive post 2012 climate regime to tackle climate change, in accordance with the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities, " said a chairman statement issued at the end of the two-day Asia- Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Hamburg.

Meanwhile, the ministers underlined the importance of the UN International Climate Conference to be held in December 2007 in Bali, Indonesia, designed to kick off the international negotiations on the new climate deal.

Negotiations "should be completed by 2009 at the latest" so that the new climate deal can be readily available before the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, said the statement.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told the meeting that the developed countries should continue to cut their greenhouse gas emissions and honor their commitment of providing financial assistance and technology transfer to developing countries,

China, for its part as a developing country, will do its best to strike a balance between economic growth and environmental protection, Yang said.

Climate change is one of the key issues to be addressed on the upcoming summit of G8 industrialized nations to be held in the German Baltic resort of Heiligendamm on June 6-8.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said Monday that Germany will battle "to the last minute" to win the U.S. support for an ambitious initiative on climate change at the upcoming G8 summit.

According to a report by German news agency dpa, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet U.S. President George W. Bush next week as the United States has turned down parts of the G8 resolution draft on climate change submitted by Germany.

The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) has 45 members, including China, Japan, South Korea, 10 ASEAN nations and 27 EU nations.

The 8th Asia-Europe Meeting, which opened on Monday, follows a summit in Helsinki last September as both sides vowed to expand cooperation.

Source: Xinhua