OTTAWA, Nov 26, 2009 (AFP) -

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will attend international climate talks next month, his office said Thursday, as 3,000 scientists pressed Ottawa to seek a deal on deeper CO2 emissions cuts.

A spokesman for Harper told AFP he will travel to Copenhagen for the December 7-18 climate talks, but a travel date has not yet been set.

The announcement marks a sudden reversal for Harper one day after US President Barack Obama said he would attend the conference.

Until now, Environment Minister Jim Prentice was expected to represent Canada at the talks.

However, with Obama now going and Ottawa's past insistence that Canada's climate change plans are inextricably linked to US actions, it appears Harper would have to go to Copenhagen.

Obama is to address the meeting in Copenhagen on December 9, the day before he heads to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

His administration will offer to curb US emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 -- less than calls by the European Union, Japan and UN scientists but the first numbers put on the table by the world's largest economy.

Earlier, societies representing 3,000 Canadian scientists pressured Ottawa in an open letter to seek a "rapid and adequate" response to climate change at upcoming international talks.

Canada sees a 20-percent reduction of CO2 emissions by 2020 compared to 2006, equivalent to a fall of three percent from a 1990 benchmark required by the Kyoto Protocol.

Its current CO2 emissions, however, are up more than 35 percent from 1990 levels.

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AFP 262011 GMT 11 09