Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, speaking at a United Nations meeting on climate change, criticized the U.S. for its refusal to join the greenhouse-gas emissions limiting Kyoto treaty.

Lifting trade barriers on ethanol would help combat global warming, Amorim also said today at a UN meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali, where almost 200 countries are gathered to begin talks to negotiate a new global climate accord to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

Amorim singled out the U.S. because it's the only industrialized country not part of the Kyoto accord, which seeks to curb global warming. President George W. Bush rejected the treaty on the grounds it would harm the economy and not be effective because it doesn't require mandatory emissions cuts by developing nations such as China and India. The U.S. is resisting calls for specific emission reductions at the Bali meeting.

``The biggest emitter of them all still refuses to join the protocol,'' Amorim said.

He also repeated calls for an end to trade barriers on ethanol. The South American country is the world's biggest producer of ethanol, which is mixed with gasoline to stretch supplies and meet clean-air regulations.

``If we want to be serious about climate change'' trade barriers must be ``removed promptly and unconditionally,'' Amorim said.

President Bush said in March when he visited Brazil that restrictions against ethanol imports from the South American country would remain intact until at least 2009.

Deforestation

Amorim also today stressed the need for developing countries to be given financial incentives for protecting their forests. Deforestation accounts for at least 20 percent of the world's greenhouse-gas emissions. Brazil is the world's largest rainforest country.

The Brazilian foreign minister also reiterated his objection to a proposal by some developing countries to earn credits for avoiding deforestation that they could then trade on a carbon- emissions trading market.

Brazil argues that such a move would flood the trading market with credits, reducing their worth.

Instead, it proposes receiving financial incentives for protecting its forests.

Figuring out how to adequately address deforestation in a new climate treaty will be ``at least as difficult as cutting emissions in the developed world,'' Amorim said today. `Yet it's a task that must be confronted.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Kim Chipman at kchipman@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 12, 2007 06:06 EST