Climate summit: Uproar over leaked Copenhagen draft

The developed and developing divide is sharper than ever with the coming to light of a possible new deal, drafted by the Danish government after talks with leaders of several developed countries, including Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

The draft leaked and was first published by the British newspaper The Guardian.

The document says global emissions will peak by the end of the next decade, but does not include any emissions targets for 2020 or specific proposals for the creation of a green fund to help the poorest countries.

The Denmark draft also says control of climate change finance would be passed to the World Bank.

Draft pro-rich

Developing countries say the document is the work of rich nations who wanted to abandon the existing Kyoto Protocol's principle of only industrialised nations taking on emission targets due to their historical responsibility for climate change.

The developing nations are up in arms against these plans of the Denmark draft:

• Specific emission cuts for developing countries
• 'Most vulnerable' category among developing countries
• Developing countries can emit not more than 1.44 tonnes of carbon per person by 2050
• Rich countries can emit 2.67 tonnes of carbon per person by 2050
  

It also sees everything coming under a single new deal, whereas an alternative text from developing countries wants an extension to the Kyoto Protocol.

Sticking points

Here are the sticking points in the leaked Danish proposal, the documents show that at the broadest level, developed and developing worlds are split on three key points:

• Level of cuts from rich countries
• Target date by which global emissions should peak
• Final shape of any future deal
  

(Read: Sticking points at Copenhagen)

The draft prepared by India, China, South Africa and Brazil sees emission reductions from developed countries coming under the Kyoto Protocol, but the Danish draft sees all of this coming under one single new agreement.