"I think we will have a very specific agreement," UN climate chief Yvo de Boer said ahead of a meeting with EU environment ministers in Brussels.

He has already ruled out the possibility that a comprehensive climate treaty can be reached at the UN-sponsored talks that get underway in Copenhagen on December 7.

The deal he anticipates is likely to include "a list of rich country targets (and) clarity on what major developing countries like India and China are willing to do," he said.

De Boer, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, also said he expected to see "clarity on finances," with a list of pledged contributions for the poorest nations.

For these goals to be meaningful and attainable, however, the United States would have to bring something concrete to the table.

De Boer expressed confidence, saying: "My sense is Obama will be in a position to come to Copenhagen with a target and a financial contribution."

Last week US Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the senate would not enact fresh legislation on climate change until next spring.

"They are not going to finalise the legislation before Copenhagen, but they don't need to," said de Boer ahead of talks due to end on December 18.

The European Union and the United Nations both want a "complete deal" in Copenhagen which could be translated into a binding treaty in the first months of 2010, he said.

Soon after he made his comments a senior US official said Washington was prepared to put an emissions target on the table in Copenhagen.

"In the context of both developed and major developing countries putting forward meaningful proposals as part of a comprehensive agreement, countries will need to put their targets on the table," the official said.

He said that "over the next several days" the nature of the US target should "become more clear" as will a looming decision on whether Obama will attend the summit.

But the comments also came as the UN climate agency warned that greenhouse gas emissions have reached record levels.

De Boer's optimism was boosted by "the pledges many countries are making," as he cited Brazil, South Korea, Russia and, most recently, Japan for "very encouraging" announcements.

Germany's new environment minister Norbert Roettgen, attending the talks in Brussels, said no-one could expect a "legally constraining" deal in Copenhagen, but that "obstacles must fall" as a result of the talks.

French Ecology Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said the Washington "problem" would mean "a flexibility on dates or figures." Other industrialised nations could perhaps make up the gap, he added.

De Boer said he hopes the European Union will clarify its position on funding ahead of the Copenhagen talks.

"We need to have a clear figure from Europe on the table," he stressed.

At a summit last month the 27 EU heads of state and government agreed on a negotiating position for Copenhagen, but failed to carve up figures for aid to the developing world to tackle climate change and deal with its consequences.

Many EU nations -- including France, Germany and Italy -- are unwilling to commit themselves before they see what the rest of the world will offer.

Swedish Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, called the extraordinary meeting with his European counterparts to discuss the bloc's strategy in the lead up to the talks.

"An ambitious bid by the US and also by China is absolutely crucial," he said.

The Copenhagen summiteers will be seeking to agree a climate change deal to succeed the Kyoto protocol, which the United States never ratified and which will run out by 2013.

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