John Kerry, the US secretary of state, has warned that the Paris climate change talks will not deliver a “treaty” that legally requires countries to…

John Kerry, the US secretary of state, has warned that the Paris climate change talks will not deliver a “treaty” that legally requires countries to cut carbon emissions, exposing international

The EU and many other countries have long argued that the accord due to be finalised next month should be an “international treaty” containing legally binding measures to cut emissions

But in an interview with the Financial Times at Norfolk naval base in Virginia, which is threatened by the prospect of rising sea levels, Mr Kerry insisted that the agreement was “definitively not going to be a treaty”

It would still contain measures that would drive a “significant amount of investment” towards a low carbon

But he added: “They’re not going to be legally binding reduction targets like Kyoto or something,” a reference to the 1997 UN treaty that contained targets for cutting emissions that countries ratifying it were legally obliged to meet

Delegates from 195 countries are due to finalise a new global climate accord in Paris that will replace the Kyoto treaty, which failed to stop emissions rising. The US signed but did not ratify it, largely because it did not cover China, now the world’s largest carbon polluter

The Paris deal is supposed to cover all countries. But Mr Kerry’s comments underline the differences between the US and other nations over how to ensure it is robust enough to shift billions of dollars of investment away from fossil fuels and towards greener energy

A spokeswoman for the European Commission said: “For us and for many other countries, we would like the Paris agreement to be in the form of a protocol or a treaty. That represents the strongest expression of political will and also for the future it provides predictability and durability.”

Privately, EU officials acknowledge that the Obama administration is eager for a deal in Paris, but not one with legally binding measures because these would strengthen arguments the deal needs approval from a hostile Senate

To that end, negotiators are trying to craft an agreement that satisfies all sides. One option is to make its rules and procedures legally binding, but not the actual targets in many of the climate pledges that nearly 160 countries have made this year for the deal

The issue is particularly sensitive ahead of the 2016 presidential election given the chasm between the Democrats and most of the Republicans running for the White House over the need and urgency to tackle climate change

Mr Kerry said it was too early to tell how the Republican-controlled Congress would respond to a global deal

While he praised China’s role in trying to reach an agreement, he said some other countries, such as India, were a “challenge” and needed more encouragement to help “bring them along”