Climate pact text not fit for approval yet

By Nina Chestney and Darcy Lambton

LONDON (Reuters) - The current negotiating text for a global climate agreement is not fit to be approved yet, the head of the European Commission's environment department Karl Falkenberg told Reuters Insider TV on Thursday.

"The text on which we are working is not in a state where I am secure to say we can approve the treaty at Copenhagen," Falkenberg said.

"We are three weeks away from an outcome in Copenhagen and in substance we have a lot of work ahead of us."

World leaders will meet in Copenhagen on December 7-18 for a U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen where leaders are scheduled to agree a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

Hopes for a treaty in December faded last week when delegates at U.N. climate talks in Barcelona said a deal may need an extra year or more, beyond the original December deadline.

Three major problems for leaders include agreeing on emission cut commitments, agreeing on technology to take countries away from high-carbon dependency and a financial package to help developing countries tackle climate change.

Concerns are mounting that a legally binding agreement will not emerge from Copenhagen talks, but rather a political framework for future discussions.

"I'm not sure we should focus so much on the terms 'political' or 'legal'," Falkenberg said.