NUSA DUA (Indonesia), Dec 15: A drama-filled 190-nation conference on Saturday set a 2009 deadline for a landmark pact to fight global warming after an isolated United States backed down on last-ditch objections.

Following gruelling all-night talks the conference launched a process to negotiate a new treaty that will take effect when the UN Kyoto Protocol’s commitments expire in 2012.

The deal comes after a year of stark warnings from Nobel-winning scientists, who say that millions of people will be at risk of hunger, homelessness and disease by 2100 if temperatures keep rising at current rates.

The US, the only major industrial nation to reject the Kyoto treaty, reached a compromise with the EU to avoid mentioning any figures as a target for slashing greenhouse gas emissions.—AFP