George Bush was castigated by European diplomats and found himself isolated Friday after a special conference on climate change ended without any progress.

European ministers, diplomats and officials attending the Washington, D.C., conference were scathing, particularly in private, over Bush's failure once again to commit to binding action on climate change.

Although the U.S. and Britain have been at odds over the environment since the early days of the Bush administration, the gap has never been as wide as it was Friday.

Britain and almost all other European countries, including Germany and France, want mandatory targets for reducing greenhouse emissions. Bush, while talking Friday about a "new approach" and "a historic undertaking", remains totally opposed.