'Saving the planet cannot wait,' the report said. 'For every year that passes, the window for action on emissions ... becomes narrower, and the costs of transforming the energy sector increase.' Starting Dec. 7, officials will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark, to formulate a new international agreement on reining in climate change. But some fear summit participants will not reach an accord, pushing final action into next year. 'A slow start means a crash finish in the race to combat climate change,' said Daniel Lashof, director of the Natural Resource Defense Council's Climate Center. 'If Copenhagen results in an interim agreement and a schedule to complete the details later ... the key will be to make sure it builds momentum and ... that countries are continuing to make the investments needed.' The new treaty will succeed the Kyoto Protocol, an international climate-change agreement expiring in 2012. The United States did not participate. A U.S. failure to set binding emissions-reduction targets is a major controversy in the upcoming negotiations. Legislation setting those goals passed the House in June but is unlikely to clear the Senate before the summit. 