Environmental groups see snub at G20 summit

By Gerard Wynn

LONDON (Reuters) - World leaders at the G20 summit disappointed environmental groups on Thursday who said their commitment to fight climate change had been vague.

The leaders reaffirmed a previous commitment to sign a U.N. climate deal this year, a step the U.N. climate-change chief said was useful, though action would be better.

The London summit had focused on averting a financial meltdown, pledging a $1 trillion package to save the world economy and boost fragile consumer and business confidence.

On "green" causes the leaders affirmed a 15-month-old commitment to agree in December this year a new climate treaty and resolved to "accelerate the transition" to a low-carbon economy.

"In mobilizing the world's economies to fight back against recession we are resolved to ... promote low-carbon growth and to create the green jobs on which our future prosperity depends," said summit host British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

"We are committed to ... working together to seek agreement on a post-2012 climate change regime at the UN conference in Copenhagen in December."

Environment experts and lobbyists had wanted a stronger message to re-build a leaner economy run on wind and solar power to avoid a future climate crisis and energy crunch even worse then the financial crisis.

"For making the transition to a 'green' economy there is no money on the table, just vague aspirations," said environmental group Greenpeace's executive director John Sauven.