Efforts to pick up the pieces after the dramatic collapse of the UN world climate-change summit in The Hague are to begin, and delegates from 182 countries are to try again next May.
Intensive talks on how to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions had to be "suspended" on Saturday afternoon when it became clear the wide gap between the European Union and the US could not be bridged by compromise proposals.
"The disappointment here is palpable. We have been let down," said Greenpeace International. "The climate talks have crashed and burned."
Environmentalists blamed the US and its allies in the "Umbrella Group" of countries, including Japan, Canada and Australia, for the breakdown and simultaneously congratulated the EU for "staying strong" on issues of principle.
Mr Jan Pronk, the Dutch Environment Minister who chaired the summit, said it was extremely disappointing that political leaders were unable to finalise guidelines for reducing emissions.
"But I believe that the political will to succeed is still alive, and I am confident that we can regroup in the very near future and complete a deal that leads to effective actions to control emissions and protect the most vulnerable countries from the impacts of global warming," he said.
A UN spokesman said the compromise text tabled by Mr Pronk last Thursday night in an effort to bridge the transatlantic gap would be forwarded as an input to a resumed conference, likely to be held in Bonn in late May.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, who returned from The Hague on Saturday, said it was better that there had been no deal because what was on offer could have led to an increase rather than a cut in greenhouse-gas emissions.
"Progress was made on issues such as aid for developing countries in combating climate change, but it was not sufficient to bring the EU on board by ensuring that the targets for emission reductions set in Kyoto three years ago weren't weakened," he told The Irish Times.
"In the end, it came down to the central issue of protecting the Kyoto Protocol's environmental integrity," the Minister said.
Mr Michael Zammit Cutajar, head of the UN Climate Change Convention secretariat, described global warming as "one of the great challenges of the 21st century" and said he hoped public reaction to the Hague summit collapse would inspire governments to take urgent action.
