The head of the European Union's executive is urging the United States to demonstrate more ambition in addressing global climate change during an upcoming meeting of major industrialized countries in Japan. While there has been some progress in aligning views on tackling greenhouse gas emissions between Brussels and Washington, significant differences still exist. Without a stronger commitment from U.S. President George W. Bush, meaningful progress may not be made until late next year when countries convene to negotiate a new U.N. climate change agreement. The next round of U.N. climate talks is scheduled for December in Poland, but the United States will be in transition with the inauguration of its next president in January. Barroso expressed the belief that the United States, as a major economy, should do more for the world. He expects the U.S. to be more ambitious at the upcoming G8 summit than they were last year, where they agreed to consider halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The EU is pushing for a fixed goal and a target for emission cuts by 2020, even though they acknowledge the unlikely support from the Bush administration. Barroso emphasized the importance of a near-term goal in addition to the 2050 target. He mentioned that he anticipated the upcoming U.S. president to further support the change in Washington's stance towards actions already approved by the EU. The EU, consisting of 27 nations, has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by a minimum of 20 percent compared to 1990 levels by 2020 and is currently developing regulations on emissions from industries, vehicles, aircraft, and other laws to achieve that goal. The U.S. states its dedication to combating climate change but is unwilling to commit to mandatory emission reductions until major developing countries like China and India agree to enforceable limits.