International negotiators made no progress at the last round of climate change talks in Bangkok as the US and EU pushed to abandon the current Kyoto Protocol, which required the developed countries to cut carbon emission.

The latest round of United Nations Climate Change Talks in Bangkok wrapped up on Friday without clarity on finance and mid-term emission reduction targets, both crucial elements for a new deal to be reached on December's Copenhagen climate change conference.

Although a will has emerged in Bangkok to build the architecture to rapidly implement climate action, "significant differences remain," said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer, who chaired the talks that began September 28.

AFP reported that US negotiator Jonathan Pershing made it clear in Bangkok that Washington will never join the Kyoto Protocol.

Kyoto legally binds 37 industrialized countries to cut greenhouse gas output by a total of more than five per cent before 2012 compared to 1990 levels.

This forces the issue of whether to scrap Kyoto and fold some of its provisions into a new accord, or to expand its provisions for another five or seven years while cutting a separate deal for the US.

"Every time we have any international instrument agreed to, we have seen efforts to move away from the agreement, at the expense of developing countries. And that is a very worrying pattern," said Yu.

The talks, which attracted more than 4,000 delegates from 177 countries, managed to trim the 200-page negotiation draft text for Copenhagen down by half, Yvo de Boer said.

Daniel Dudek, chief economist with the Environmental Defense Fund, said every nation should have a binding commitment but these commitments can differ substantially between nations ranging from reductions to reporting.

"We can no longer afford inspirational goals," he said.

As to the fate of the Copenhagen climate change summit, Dudek said: "We are still in positioning mode with many scenes yet to unfold and the coming summit between President Hu Jintao and President Barack Obama in November is the next big chapter we can look forward to," said Dudek.

Li Ning, Oxfam Hong Kong climate change officer also said:"I personally believe that the US is testing the waters before Obama visits China by tossing up such ideas again."

In essence, Li said the US wants to abandon the common- but-differentiated principle and make "all the members in the world share responsibilities of carbon emission cut."

On the way to Copenhagen, Li said Oxfam, a poverty-reduction organization, hopes that the international community should clinch a deal "favorable to the poor" who have less chance to voice their concerns.

While some experts criticized the US stance, they also agreed that China should take binding responsibility in the near future, if not now.

"I personally believe China should set a carbon emission cap in 10 years," said Zhou Qi, an expert on American studies with Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Hu Angang, professor with Tsinghua University, has repeatedly urged Chinese leaders to set a peak target of carbon emission in 2020, despite that some others believe that China's carbon emissions cap will peak in 2030, 2035 or even 2050.