China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, South Africa, South Korea, Australia and Egypt were also invited.

The final document on Friday will be forwarded to the G8 summit to be hosted by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in July. The results of the Siracusa forum also paves the way for the United Nations meeting in Copenhagen in December, which aims at sealing a global deal to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

At the Siracusa meeting, great attention was also given to the role of the United States after President Barack Obama's new environmental approach raised hopes for reaching a global deal against climate change.

Washington has acknowledged the need for a new CO2 emission regulation scheme. Next week a larger climate meeting will take place in Washington, where 17 nations will take part.

Stefano Pogutz, environmental management professor at Bocconi University in Milan, hopes that the "new Obama administration will push for a global climate deal."

"The United States should become the driver of a post-Kyoto era," he said. "Barack Obama's recent agreement with Mexico on renewable energies sets the right trend and there are high expectations for the international climate change summit in Washington."

Carlo Andrea Bollino, economics professor at Rome's LUISS University, said that "Obama's new strategic vision is the real novelty of the Siracusa meeting. He promised that the United States will never again hinder global climate agreements like Kyoto and this is a big step forward."

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Editor:Yang Jie