Meanwhile, Canada said Monday that China, India and the U.S. all must have greenhouse-gas emissions targets under any new treaty to fight global warming, The Toronto Star reported. Conversely, China and India say industrialized nations must be the first to undertake major reductions in emissions, as they've been the largest historical contributors to global warming. The developing world argues that their emission output is required to continue to develop their economies: efforts to limit them would stifle their economic growth at a critical stage.

Environmental groups have criticized and/or questioned Canada's assertive stance. Climate Action Network spokeswoman Jennifer Morgan said, "If you want to kill these negotiations, that's the way to do it," Bloomberg News reported.

Economic Analysis: It sounds like the first round of shots are being fired in the global emissions reductions contest. Canada's initial stance was somewhat demanding, and look for the nation to modify it in the days ahead. The new emissions goals with take several years to negotiate -- negotiations that are complicated by the fact that 2008 is a U.S. presidential election year, and the U.S. stance toward a new emission agreement will differ, depending on whether a Democrat or a Republican is elected president.

In general, however, look for the United States to take a much more engaged stance regarding the formulation of new emissions limits / greenhouse gas reduction goals. A combination of factors -- scientific, corporate, domestic political, geopolitical, and financial -- has created a new environmental policy momentum in the United States.