Some 100 heads of state gathered at the United Nations on Tuesday for an unprecedented daylong conference on combating climate change, with key leaders like presidents Hu Jintao of China and Barack Obama acknowledging that agreement is an important goal, but also stressing their own needs.

Negotiators have been struggling to hammer out a deal to cut global emissions by December in Copenhagen, and the United Nations organisers are hoping that gathering the leaders will give the talks new political momentum.

Hu said that while China had made great strides in development, it still lagged relatively in terms of its wealth per individual, and that had to be taken into account in fighting emissions. “Due to their low development level and shortage of capital and technology, developing countries have limited capability and climate change,” he said.

Hu added that his country would take four steps toward greener development, although he did give any specific numerical targets. He said China will cut carbon dioxide emissions by a “notable margin” by 2020 compared to 2005 levels, massively increase forest size, boost nuclear or non-fossil fuels to 15 per cent of power by 2020 and work to develop a green economy.

He did not say China would consider the cuts mandatory, and also tied the emissions cuts to the growth in the country’s gross domestic product.

Obama also repeated his commitment to green growth. The world “cannot allow the old divisions that have characterised the climate debate for so many years to block our progress,” he said, adding that forging any kind of consensus will come slowly. He noted that the United States and others had tried to downplay the crisis before but now recognised its gravity.

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