Durban climate summit: Obama asks India, China to reduce carbon emissions

Ahead of the Durban climate summit, US President Barack Obama today asked emerging economies including India and China to assume greater responsibility in finding ways to reduce carbon emissions, saying they are "part of the bargain".

Obama said the US would continue to insist at the upcoming Durban climate talks that emerging economies including India and China were "part of the bargain".

"It doesn't mean that they have to do exactly what we do, but in terms of per capita carbon emissions they've got a long way to go to catch up to us," Obama said on his arrival in Australia on his first official visit to the country.

"But it does mean they have to take seriously their responsibilities as well," he said, adding that the US, as one of several countries with a big carbon footprint, would continue to find ways to reduce its emissions.

The next climate summit, which is being called a make-or-break meeting for legally binding carbon emission reduction targets, will be held in the South African city of Durban from November 28.

Major developing countries, including China, India, Brazil and South Africa in August issued a joint call for the Durban talks to extend the Kyoto Protocol.

Obama warned that the 10-day talks in Durban will be a "tough slog" given the prevailing economic difficulties.

Obama said that climate change was a real problem and it was the responsibility of all countries to find ways to reduce carbon emissions.

"Each country is trying to trying to figure out how to do that most effectively," Australian news agency AAP quoted the US President as saying.

"The advanced economies can't do this alone, so part of our insistence when we are in multilateral fora, and I will continue to insist on this when we go to Durban, is that if we are taking a series of steps then it's important that emerging economies like China and India are also part of the bargain," he said.