Yvo de Boer, the head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, expressed concerns that the Bali climate talks might fail unless 190 nations resolve their differences quickly. The negotiations are currently stalled over the details of launching talks on a new global warming agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol. De Boer emphasized the urgency of reaching an agreement, warning that failure to do so could cause the talks to collapse. In discussions, the United States, Japan, Canada, and Australia are opposing efforts to include a recommendation for wealthy nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 as a guideline for future negotiations. The European Union, which supports this range to demonstrate that affluent countries will take the lead, has criticized Washington for being the main obstacle in Bali. This range was included in a recent draft on Thursday, outlining terms for discussions aimed at preventing famines, droughts, rising sea levels, and the melting of Himalayan glaciers. Portugal's Secretary of State for Environment, Humberto Rosa, expressed disappointment that the United States is still delaying progress at the Bali talks. Portugal currently holds the EU presidency, and Rosa is the EU's lead negotiator at the Bali talks. "The United States has been incorporating new terminology such as engagement and leadership, but mere words are insufficient. We require concrete action. This is the primary obstacle," he informed Reuters. The Washington administration, which is not part of the Kyoto Protocol, argues that setting guidelines would prematurely determine the results of the negotiations. Additionally, it claims that the 25-40 percent range is derived from limited scientific research." De Boer stated that negotiations must resolve all remaining disputes by midday on Friday, in order to allow for the translation of documents into the six official U.N. languages. U.N. climate talks often go late into the night on the final day. The Kyoto Protocol obliges 37 industrialized countries to reduce their emissions from 2008 to 2012. Developing nations, such as China and India, are not required to reduce emissions, and President George W. Bush withdrew from the agreement in 2001, citing potential harm to the U.S. economy and the absence of targets for developing countries. The United Nations aims for all nations to agree on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol by the end of 2009, to allow time for governments to ratify the new agreement by 2012 and to provide clear guidelines for investment in clean energy technology. China is pushing for negotiations on a new global agreement to continue until 2010, in order to allow the incoming American president to participate. This idea is not widely supported by other countries. The current US president, Bush, will leave office in January 2009. The Norwegian Prime Minister emphasized the importance of limiting global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius and peaking global emissions by 2015. Our actions will be evaluated by future generations. The wealthy will need to bear the majority of the expenses in assisting developing countries in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.