Rich-poor deadlock in Copenhagen

This article was published in The Guardian 15 December 2009

Developed nations are trying to water down their emission commitments – no wonder the rest of the world is angry.

Entering its second week, just days before the arrival of the political leaders, the Copenhagen climate conference is in the grip of a serious deadlock.

Developing countries, led by the Africans, on Monday insisted that the conference place top priority on the developed countries' emission reduction commitments, and on the continuation of the Kyoto protocol (KP), which is the legally binding treaty under which the commitments are to be made.