After nearly two weeks of negotiations, delegates to the global warming conference in Kyoto, Japan announced they had reached a deal to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases produced world wide. Following a background report, Margaret Warner, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) discuss whether or not the U.S. Senate will ratify the agreement.

MARGARET WARNER: The final hours of the climate convention in Kyoto, Japan, were frenetic as negotiators went into overtime in their search for a deal. But finally on Thursday morning, well into the eleventh day of their scheduled ten-day conference, the exhausted delegates got what they'd come for, an agreement to curb the threat of global warming.

PAUL ESTRADA: We'll recommend the adoption of this protocol to the conference by unanimity.

MARGARET WARNER: Under the agreement 38 industrialized nations will cap their emissions of greenhouse gases to an average of 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2012. Different countries were assigned different targets, among them, the European Union 8 percent below 1990 levels; the United States 7 percent; Japan, Russia, and Canada 6 percent. Additional measures give countries flexibility in how they meet their target. A clean development mechanism will let industrialized countries get credit for financing emissions reduction projects in other countries, and an international "emissions trading" regime will be established letting industrialized countries buy and sell excess emissions credits amongst themselves. The agreement fell short of a major U.S. goal, however, to get the fast-growing developing countries like China and India to participate. Negotiators also failed to win tough compliance measures to punish nations that don't meet their targets. Negotiators hailed the agreement but also sounded some caution.

STUART EIZENSTAT, U.S. Delegate: We view Kyoto not as the end of a process, but as a historic beginning of a process to deal with a long-term problem that ultimately must be solved not only by developed--but by developing countries.

RITT BIERREGAARD, European Commissioner: We would have liked to have the result better. It's quite clear the European Union came here with a higher target. We would have liked the other parties to be more ambitious.

MARGARET WARNER: Officials of U.S. energy companies and other businesses, who had lobbied against the agreement, were critical of the results.

WILLIAM O'KEEFE, Chairman, Global Climate Coalition: It is not good news for the American consumer, for the American economy, or the record of economic growth that we've had over the past four or five, six years.

MARGARET WARNER: Environmental groups, with a few exceptions, were generally enthusiastic.

DEB CALLAGHAN, President, League of Conservation Voters: Environmental and public interest groups will rally local support for this historic treaty at the grassroots level. We will be working to make certain the voices of millions of Americans who support a strong climate change treaty are heard.

MARGARET WARNER: Today in Washington Vice President Gore said the U.S. targets could be met without opposing a severe economic burden on American consumers and taxpayers.

VICE PRESIDENT GORE: I believe the American people can meet the challenge of global warming and end up with a better and stronger economy in the process. So on behalf of President Clinton, I call on all Americans in our best bipartisan tradition to join together in this critical undertaking to stand with us on the right side of history.

MARGARET WARNER: But Gore said the White House would not ask the Senate to ratify the agreement as it now stands.

VICE PRESIDENT GORE: As we've said from the very beginning, we will not submit this for ratification until there's meaningful participation by key developing nations.

MARGARET WARNER: Instead, Gore said the President would ask Congress to approve measures to help meet the target, like a $5 billion package of tax incentives to encourage the development of energy-efficient technology.