ABC News reports that 45 nations have answered France’s call for a new environmental body to slow inevitable global warming and protect the planet, perhaps with policing powers to punish violators.

Missing, of course, are the United States (the world’s biggest polluter) and the booming nations vying for that title, China and India.

The charge led by French President Jacques Chirac came a day after the release of an authoritative and grim scientific report that said global warming is “very likely” caused by mankind and that climate change will continue for centuries even if heat-trapping gases are reduced.

It was the strongest language ever used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, whose last report was issued in 2001. The document, a collaboration of hundreds of scientists and government officials, was approved by 113 nations, including the United States.

Despite the report’s dire outlook, scientists say the worst disasters may be avoided if strong action is taken soon.

“It is our responsibility. The future of humanity demands it,” Chirac said at a French-sponsored environment conference Saturday.

Without naming the U.S. directly, Chirac expressed frustration that “some large, rich countries still must be convinced” and are “refusing to accept the consequences of their acts.”

Chirac, 74, is seeking to leave his mark on international affairs before he leaves office, likely in May, though his own environmental record over 12 years as France’s president is spotty.

The French head of state won praise from former Vice President Al Gore, whose Oscar-nominated An Inconvenient Truth - a documentary on the perils of global warming - has garnered worldwide attention.

“We are at a tipping point,” Gore told the conference via videophone. “We must act, and act swiftly. Such action requires international cooperation.”The world’s scientists and other international leaders also said now that the science is so well-documented, action is clearly the next step.

“It is time now to hear from the world’s policymakers,” said Tim Wirth, president of the United Nations Foundation. “The so-called and long-overstated ‘debate’ about global warming is now over.”

Granger Morgan, an energy expert at Carnegie Mellon University, predicts the new climate report “will kick a few more folks to get on board.”

And Jason Grumet, head of the National Commission on Energy Policy, said:

“The debate has clearly shifted from a battle over the science to fighting over the scope and design of the solution.”

However, many questions remain about Chirac’s proposed new body - he only says the group should “evaluate ecological damage” and “support the implementation of environmental decisions” - namely whether it would have the power to enforce global climate accords.

Many countries have failed to meet targets for cutting greenhouse emissions laid out in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The United States has never ratified the pact. And on Friday, George W. Bush reiterated his rejection of imposed cuts on greenhouse gases.

Earlier this week, Chirac warned in a published interview that the United States could face a carbon tax on its exports if it does not sign global climate accords.

The European Union, which agreed to the Kyoto Protocol curbing emissions, has committed to a 20 percent reduction in carbon pollution by 2020. If others join them, they could even try for 60 percent cuts by 2050.

The United Nations also is considering a summit of world leaders to tackle global warming, and Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, said he expects the U.S. to send high-ranking officials to it.

Kevin Trenberth, an American co-author of the new climate report, marveled at the overflow crowd of more than 400 reporters on hand for the document’s release on Friday - the greatest coverage that he’d seen in decades of climate conferences.