Prime Minister Stephen Harper told a high-level United Nations meeting Canada would pursue a “flexible” approach to global warming that allows for continued economic growth.

Steering clear of fixed emissions targets, Harper focused on the role of technology, one of four themes the UN invited delegates to speak about. Canada is currently developing technology, he said, that will help the world combat global warming.

The UN’s other suggested themes – how to adapt to climate change; reducing emissions; and financing the response to global warming – would likely have put Harper on a collision course with the UN, which advocates binding limits on greenhouse-gas emissions.

The talks are a prelude to the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, in December, where leaders are to forge a new deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012.