The International Energy Agency, the energy advisor to big oil-consuming nations, Wednesday expressed optimism that countries will be able to forge a new agreement on cutting greenhouse gas emissions at a key meeting in Copenhagen in December.
"CO2 emissions declined this year...this means that the 2020 targets which the negotiators are talking about are much easier to achieve than last year, so we are cautiously optimistic" IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka said here.
Tanaka was speaking to reporters at an IEA-sponsored meeting of around 30 energy ministers from IEA member states, including the U.S., and top energy officials from China, India and Russia.
"We feel that, from our analysis, this economic crisis provides us a window of opportunity of moving toward a successful conclusion in Copenhagen," Tanaka said.