Angry environmentalists have slammed the US, Japan and developing countries for killing off global targets on green energy production.

A deal to bring clean water and sanitation to half the world's poor came at the expense of tough European targets setting quotas for renewable energy generation.

An EU push to impose 10 to 15 per cent targets on wind and solar power have been effectively ditched.

Johannesburg's Earth summit has moved away from firm renewables quotas to a statement urging nations to "act with a sense of urgency" on green power.

The move was killed by an alliance of the US, Japan, oil-producing OPEC countries and developing countries.

In a row showing the often tense relationship between greens seeking to restrict industrial development many third world nations seeking to boost growth reject renewable targets as a Western preoccupation.

South Africa's environment minister, Valli Moosa, rejected targets as a rich country's luxury, inappropriate for the developing world.

"We will not support binding targets for developing countries," he said.

Friends of the Earth attacked a deal that put clean water and sanitation ahead of "sustainable development".

"It is very disappointing to see renewables being abandoned at this stage in the deal," said FOE's, Matt Phillips.

"Sanitation is important but for sustainable development poor communities need clean, efficient energy."

Environmentalists are concerned that industrial economic priorities continue to trump nature.

"Economic interests were allowed to maintain their primacy over other global priorities," said the WWF's Kim Carstensen.

FOE accused world leaders of failing to tackle high consumption and production patterns.

"The Rio plan for a ten year action programme to address over-consumption and damaging production patterns has been dumped in favour of a weaker 'framework of programmes'," said a statement.

UK ministers have denied that a deal on basic water infrastructure was at the expense of green power.

International development secretary, Clare Short, argued that renewables were an expensive technology.

"Even if we don't win we can still go forward on renewables and we need to improve investment in renewables in our kind of countries because at the moment they are still more expensive than other forms of energy," she told the BBC.

"Getting the target on sanitation is a massive commitment for us."

The European Commission has launched a "coalition of the willing" to press ahead with green power development.

"The World summit has shown that energy, like water, is at the very core of the development agenda, but for development to be sustainable that energy needs to be clean. "

"Increasing the use of clean renewable energy will have multiple benefits for rich and poor countries alike, from cutting the emissions that are changing the global climate to improving the health of millions in the developing world who have to breathe the smoke of their wood-fired stoves, said environment commissioner, Margot Wallstrom.

"The initial response to our initiative from those with whom we have already discussed it has been extremely positive. I am extremely pleased to see that so many are interested in forming a 'coalition of the willing' to translate the Summit's commitment into firm targets."

Striking a different tone to most commentary on the Earth summit, environment secretary Margaret Beckett hailed the "truly remarkable" efforts of world leaders.

"The overall outcome of this Johannesburg summit is truly remarkable," she said.

"We had to give it our best shot - to get the best deal we could - and we did. It's easy to make promises about the future - it's more difficult to take responsibility for the planet."

"I am in no doubt that our descendants will look back on this summit and say we set out on a new path."

In an upbeat assessment of talks on "the greatest challenge of our times", Beckett claimed that Johannesburg would make a real difference to the lives to the world's poor.

"As with all negotiations we aimed high and we ended up with more than we might have expected. I have always said this summit should be about more than fine words it should be about a concrete step change," she said.

"This summit has clearly achieved targets and action plans for sanitation, fish stocks, toxic chemicals, biodiversity and natural resources."

"We came to Johannesburg to make a real difference to people's lives. I believe that we have succeeded."

The US too has sung the successes of the summit

"We've reached a real breakthrough with the summit in our collective attempt to ensure that this is a successful gathering of the global family," said US assistant secretary of state John Turner.

Tony Blair's efforts to force climate change to the top of the environmental agenda had a mixed result.

Despite George W Bush's refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol - setting up a world market in CO2 emission credits - the US agreed to wording "strongly urging" countries to sign up to climate change targets quickly.

Pressure on the US is set to grow when its north American neighbour Canada ratifies Kyoto via a parliamentary vote this year.

Negotiators have ironed out a 70 page action plan built around the original declarations of 1992' Rio summit.

UN secretary-general Kofi Annan called on world leaders to move from declaration to implementation.

"The focus from now on must be on implementing the many agreements that have been reached," he said.

The deal on water supplies has been identified as a key breakthroughs by the UN.

Agreement to give half the two billion people who presently lack clean water and sanitation access by 2015 is set to have an impact on reducing the seven million children - 6000 who die every day - due to water borne disease.

"It is hard to imagine how we can implement sustainable development when two billion people lack proper sanitation facilities," said UN summit chief general Nitin Desai.

"This is an historic commitment because for the first time, the world has made the issues of water and sanitation a high-level political priority. We need this political commitment, and now we need the practical measures and partnerships to ensure that the new goals are met."

But more remains to be done, believes Desai. "We have to recognize that the new targets, if met, will only bring clean water and proper sanitation to half of the people who lack these necessities. There is still the other half, and we cannot stop until everyone benefits," he said.

FOE have accused the summit of "weasel words" on water supplies.

"Governments inserted weasel words to their much-trailed commitment to halve the number of people without access to water and sanitation by 2015. But they failed to ensure water remains a public good and constrain liberalization and privatisation," said a statement from the green group.