Leaked Text Causes Chaos in Copenhagen

Leaders of developing countries angrily accused rich nations of cutting them out of the negotiations at the Copenhagen climate summit after the leak of a secret draft agreement. The Guardian got hold of the draft, known as the "Danish text," and says it would allow rich nations to emit nearly twice as much carbon per capita as poor countries. That abandons the principle of the Kyoto protocol, which calls for the richer nations to take on the bulk of the burden.

The document—thought to be the product of a group that includes the US, UK, and Denmark—also would weaken the UN's role in future climate change negotiations. "It is a fundamental reworking of the UN balance of obligations, being done in secret," one diplomat said. "Clearly the intention is to get Obama and the leaders of other rich countries to muscle it through when they arrive next week. It effectively is the end of the UN process." (More Copenhagen stories.)