Representatives of the world's major emitters of greenhouse gases began two days of meetings yesterday at the East-West Center to discuss reducing emissions linked to global warming.

Meanwhile, students and others drew a chalk line through the Mo'ili'ili-McCully area to mark how far flood waters might come if climate change causes a 1-meter rise in sea level. Several leading scientists believe a 1-meter sea level rise will likely happen by the end of the century.

"There is no time left that the world can lose," said Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.

About 150 people representing 16 countries, the United Nations and the European Union are attending the "Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change," the second in a series of talks initiated last year by President Bush. Officials said the meetings are to advance United Nations climate change negotiations.

"To face the climate change challenge, there is a need for radical changes in the world economic future, but this clearly involves changes that imply plenty of opportunities," said de Boer. "It's important to bear in mind that the most vulnerable communities in the poorest countries, those who have contributed nothing to climate change, will be the worst affected by its impact."

The major economies meeting follows a United Nations-sponsored conference in Bali, which resulted in a "road map" for a two-year negotiating process to create a formal climate treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which ends in 2012. The Kyoto Protocol requires industrial nations to make cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

BUSH COMPLAINT

Bush has complained that the Kyoto Protocol, which the United States has not signed, would unduly damage the U.S. economy and that it did not include developing nations like China and India.

"All efforts now have to focus on getting the negotiations on the climate change deal off the ground to be ready by 2009," said de Boer.

Environmentalists have accused the Bush administration of using the major economies talks to subvert U.N. negotiations to address climate change.

C. Boyden Gray, U.S. special envoy to the European Union, said the series of "major economies" meetings is intended to accelerate action on some of the items that have been negotiated as part of the Bali road map. He described the group of "major economies" at this meeting as a subcommittee of the 190 or so countries involved in the U.N. process.

"If the past is any guide, it's very difficult to negotiate details with 190 parties, and one of the points of this is to try to pull the biggest emitters aside as a subcommittee to try to advance some principles to feed into the U.N. process as a whole," he said.

A third "major economies" meeting will likely be held in France in April, Gray said.

In the meantime, local environmental activists, experts and others used the international talks to launch their own events yesterday.

While the meeting was getting under way, about two dozen demonstrators stood across from the East-West Center, holding signs and banners with messages such as: "Clean Energy Now For Our Children," and "Palm Oil Is Not Clean Energy." One demonstrator dressed in a polar bear costume held a sign saying, "Save Me."

SKEPTICAL OF PROGRESS

Kat Brady, assistant executive director of local environmental group Life of the Land, was skeptical that progress would be made at the meeting.

"I think this is shibai, and I don't know what they're going to accomplish in there," she said.

Chuck Burrows, an eco-justice activist with the Church of the Crossroads, said: "We would like the United States to take the leadership, as they neglected to do in the Bali conference, to take more aggressive and more drastic, immediate actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ... We're here to encourage these other countries' delegates to persuade the U.S. delegation to do that."

The UH William S. Richardson School of Law was also scheduled to host a "Focus Hawaii: UH Climate Change Teach In" last night, involving local experts from UH, students and community leaders.

"The world is changing so rapidly, and we are committed in our state to lead by example," said Gov. Linda Lingle, as she welcomed the attendees. "By your countries and organizations attending this meeting, you also made a commitment to lead by example."

HAWAI'I'S MOTTO

Lingle told attendees it's appropriate that the meeting is held in Hawai'i. She shared the state's motto, Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina I ka pono (The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness), saying it "guides our people and it guides our government decisions, and it's a principle that can be applied around the world."

"Our state ... is no different than the rest of the world as we face the pushes and pulls of economics, development, growing populations, technology," Lingle said, noting that Hawai'i is the most oil-dependent state in the country.

White House officials said Hawai'i visits have been arranged for interested attendees, including a guided tour of the North Shore and a visit to Punahou School.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.