It is being reported that the United States will join India, China and Australia in announcing a new pact to limit greenhouse gases as an alternative to the Kyoto Protocol. The new pact focuses upon new technologies to help energy-hungry Asia-Pacific economies such as China and India slash emissions. This is a good idea - but it is largely cosmetic, working at the margins of the problem. The best available science suggests that carbon dioxide emissions need to be reduced by 60% by 2050 to avoid climate catastrophes. This is not going to be achieved through new technologies alone. This may well prove to be a worthwhile agreement, as long as it does not obstruct Kyoto's emphasis upon emissions reductions