Secret talks among top environmental negotiators from the so-called Umbrella Group of industrialized countries, originally scheduled for mid-February in New Zealand, have been postponed until some time in the latter half of March, informed sources said Sunday.
The sources said that the secret New Zealand meeting of Japan, the United States and eight other non-European Union industrialized countries has been put off to allow the new Republican administration of U.S. President George W. Bush time to review the global warming policy of the administration of former Democratic President Bill Clinton.
Bush formally took office on Jan. 20. The Umbrella Group comprises Japan, the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakstan.