Delegates are gathering in Tianjin, China from October 3-9 for the final round of UN climate talks before this year\'s summit in Mexico, which begins at the end of November.

The meeting is expected to produce a draft negotiating text that nations will debate at the Cancun summit.

Last year\'s summit in Copenhagen, billed as a make-or-break year, ended in disarray without a legally binding deal to curb global climate change.

Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, played down expectations of a binding deal being struck at this year\'s summit.

"Let me be clear - there is no magic bullet, no one climate agreement that will solve everything right now," she said in a statement ahead of this week\'s talks.

"To expect that is naive. However, I am certain the world can do this step by step, but only if we keep on walking firmly in the right direction, including at Cancun."

But Ms Figueres added that this year\'s gathering would be "the place where governments need to take the next firm step on humanity\'s long journey to meet the full-scale challenge of climate change".

The agenda at the meeting in Tianjin will focus on two main topics:

* Industrialised nations\' commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, including further emission reductions after 2012, when the current period ends

* Preparation of a draft negotiating text for the Cancun summit

Ms Figueres called on delegates attending the Tianjin talks to "cut down the number of options" currently being considered.

Instead, she observed: "Indentify what is achievable in Cancun and muster political compromises that will deliver what needs to be done."

Last year\'s Copenhagen summit ended with delegates at the 193-nation UN conference simply "taking note" of a US-led climate deal that recognised the need to limit temperature rises to 2C (3.6F).