US President George W. Bush has reprimanded British Prime Minister Tony Blair for sounding the alarm over global warming and pressing for international action to combat it, senior Washington sources say.
They report that the White House has objected to the prime minister placing the issue at the top of the agenda when he heads the Group of Eight meeting of the world's most powerful nations next year, and to the strong tone of his recent speeches warning of climate change.
Mr Blair is widely seen as the leader best placed to bring Mr Bush into serious international negotiation on how to tackle the problem, which he has described as 'very, very critical indeed'.
This follows a U-turn by Greenpeace, which last week withdrew its long-standing support of Mr Blair's climate policies, saying he 'can no longer be given the benefit of the doubt' and 'cannot be trusted to resist industry lobbying'.
But the government says it is both successfully mobilising international support for Mr Blair's initiatives and making progress on reaching consensus with the US on 'a way forward'.
Mr Blair has repeatedly described global warming as 'the single biggest long-term issue' facing the world.