Developing nations bitter over last-minute accord

Copenhagen: The United Nations climate conference ended yesterday after a new US-brokered deal supported by five emerging economies, including China, skirted bitter opposition from several nations to ensure the talks did not collapse.

"Finally we sealed a deal," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. "The ‘Copenhagen Accord' may not be everything everyone had hoped for, but this decision ... is an important beginning."

But a decision at marathon 193-nation talks merely took note of the new accord, a non-binding deal for combating global warming led by the US, China, India, Brazil and South Africa.

In a stormy overnight session, the talks came to the brink of collapse after Sudan, Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia lined up to denounce the US-led plan after about 120 world leaders left after a summit on Friday.

Many nations said the deal fell far short of a turning point to push the world economy towards renewable energies such as hydro, solar and wind power and away from fossil fuels.

China had resisted international monitoring of its emissions curbs and the final wording took into account Chinese concerns, speaking of the need to protect sovereignty.

Before leaving, Obama said the deal was a starting point. "This progress did not come easily and we know this progress alone is not enough," he said.

Do you agree with the way the US powered their way towards a deal? Is the deal unfair to developing nations? Will it have any real impact on the world's carbon emissions?