Leaders at the G8 summit were understood to have reached agreement last night over the text of a joint communiqué on climate change, but official sources said the document was being held over because of the London bombings and would not be published until today.
As expected, the communiqué is believed to be modest in its scope, reflecting fundamental disagreement between the US and the other G8 members in their scientific analysis of global warming. The US is the only G8 country that has not signed up to the Kyoto Protocol for curbing greenhouse gas emissions.
To avoid any appearance of disunity, the communiqué is likely to contain a joint pledge to reduce greenhouse gases by investing in new, cleaner technology and greater energy efficiency. But it is understood the document does make reference in non-contentious terms to the Kyoto Protocol.
President Bush told reporters early yesterday that there was "consensus to move forward together" on climate change which, along with development aid, is one of the two main items placed on the agenda by the British government, which holds the rotating presidency of the G8 this year.
"Now it is time to get beyond the Kyoto period and develop a strategy that is inclusive, not only of the US but also with developing nations," the president said. He repeated his long-standing demand that a global warming treaty should extend to countries like China and India, which are not covered by Kyoto.
"The most constructive way to deal with the problem from our perspective is to not only include the US in discussions, but also include developing countries in discussion, countries like India and China," he said.
Asked whether he had changed his stance, Mr Bush said: "My position has been pretty steady."
The US opposes Kyoto measures to "cap" carbon pollution on the basis that it would wreck the American economy, which is a heavy user of oil, gas and coal.
The bomb attacks in London coincided with the formal start of the G8 talks between Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the US.
Also participating yesterday were heads of state or government from Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa.
The communiqué and its accompanying "Gleneagles Plan of Action" on climate change were expected to plump for self-regulation in the control of greenhouse gases rather than pressing for legally-binding measures.
Before the emergence of news of the bomb blasts and his departure for London, Mr Blair acknowledged that progress on this issue was likely to be modest.
"There is no point going over the Kyoto debate," he said. "We're not going to negotiate some new treaty on climate change here at the G8 meeting. All it is about is seeing whether it would be possible to bring people back into consensus in the future."
Today the summit is scheduled to discuss development aid and debt relief for developing countries, particularly in Africa. It is understood the British government target of allocating $50 billion (€41.8 billion) extra in aid worldwide may be agreed, but questions remain on how much of this is "new money" and how much is reallocated from other budgets.
Meanwhile, Irish aid agency Trócaire called for an agricultural plan for Africa to boost the production capacity and skills of farmers, an African version of the EU's Common Agriculture Policy.
"European farmers have benefited from the Cap introduced in the 1950s and now it is time to give African farmers additional financial and technical support," said a Trócaire spokeswoman. "Over 70 per cent of Africans make their living from the land."