Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- China, India and the U.S. all must have targets on greenhouse-gas emissions under any new treaty to fight global warming, Canadian Environment Minister John Baird said, putting his country at odds with three major emitters who reject binding cuts in the gases.

``We support binding targets for all major emitters,'' Baird told reporters today on the Indonesian island of Bali, where more than 180 nations are gathering for climate change talks. ``For any successful fight against global warming, we need to get all of the big emitters on board. We need to get the United States on board, we need to get countries like China and India.''

The U.S. has rejected binding targets for greenhouse gas cuts in the climate treaty that expires in 2012, citing the potential damage to its economy. China and India say industrialized nations must act first, as they are historically more responsible for causing global warming. Developing nations say they need to increase emissions in order to be able to grow their economies.

Environmental groups have criticized Canada's insistence that developing nations should accept legally binding emissions reduction goals. Canada's position is ``unacceptable,'' said Jennifer Morgan, a spokeswoman for Climate Action Network, which includes more than 400 campaign groups and charities.

``If you want to kill these negotiations, that's the way to do it,'' Morgan said today in Bali. ``Calling for those types of targets here is basically coming here to try and sabotage the talks.''

Retreating From Kyoto

Baird said Canada was being ``constructive'' in the Bali negotiations, and he could understand skepticism because the North American nation hasn't yet done enough to reduce its own emissions. Canada in April backed away from the present emissions- limiting treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, with Baird saying meeting the country's goal of a 6 percent emissions cut from 1990 levels by 2012 would cause a recession.

``Canada's talked the talk, but we haven't walked the walk,'' Baird said today. ``That's why we will be judged by the actions we take and not by the promises we make.''

Canada's emissions in 2005 were 25 percent above 1990 levels, according to data on the Web site of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the organizer of the talks in Bali. Baird has laid out plans to cut the country's emissions by 20 percent from 2006 levels by 2020. He said today that any binding targets should be ``differentiated.''

``No one's suggesting at all that China should adapt a binding target of an absolute reduction of 20 percent like Canada has, but we need to get them on board,'' Baird said. Without all major emitters making reduction commitments, greenhouse gas emissions would end up being exported from one nation to another, he said.

``We don't want to close a steel mill in Canada and import steel from China,'' Baird said. ``We don't want to close a coal- powered generating station in Ontario and then import dirty coal- fired electricity from Michigan.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in Nusa Dua at amorales2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 10, 2007 05:28 EST