The reading from the Letter to the Ephesians this Sunday counsels its hearers to "watch carefully how you live." Global warming is making the urgency of this advice ever more apparent to an energy-hungry world. But time is running short for agreement on a new global warming treaty amid deep divisions over key issues, according to the United Nation's top climate official.

Speaking at the start of the latest round of U.N. discussions, Yvo de Boer said political signals were positive but progress still too slow. About 1,000 officials are meeting in Bonn for a week of informal talks. The aim is to clear the way for the adoption of a new U.N. climate treaty in Copenhagen in December.

"We've got a 200-plus-page text riddled with square brackets [where issues are unresolved]," de Boer said. "And it worries me to think how on earth we're going to whittle that down to meaningful language with just five weeks of negotiating time left."

One of the toughest disputes is over which countries should commit to reducing their levels of greenhouse gases. Another source of tension is over the financial aid the developing world says it needs in order to cope with the effects of climate change.

Bernaditas de Castro-Mueller of the Philippines, a senior coordinator for the G77 group of developing countries, said the nations that had caused the most greenhouse gases had an obligation to help those suffering from them. "It's just an outrage that countries cannot live up to their responsibilities. We're all parties to this convention, including the developed countries," she said.

Source: An article by David Shukman for BBC News