Leaked Agreement Rocks Copenhagen Climate Conference

More Cloak And Dagger Drama From Copenhagen Climate Conference...

Leaked agreement rocks Copenhagen- ABC NEWS Australia

The Copenhagen climate talks have been rocked by the leak of a draft final agreement which weakens the role of the United Nations in climate change negotiations and abandons the Kyoto Protocol.

The "Danish text" draft agreement, published by the UK's Guardian newspaper, has been described as a dangerous document for developing countries.

Over the past week, parts of Denmark's proposal have leaked into the public domain, but this is the first time it has been published in its entirety.

According to the Guardian, the secret agreement has been worked on by a group of individuals known as the 'circle of commitment'.

It is understood to include Australia, the US, the UK and Denmark, which are all said to have finalised the deal in the past two days.

The document abandons the Kyoto Protocol, sidelines the United Nations in future climate change negotiations, and hands most of the power to rich countries.

The Kyoto Protocol relied on the principle that rich nations - responsible for the bulk of emissions - can and should be compelled to take on the biggest burden when it comes to cutting those emissions.

Under Kyoto, poorer nations were not required to act at all.

The leaked agreement not only brings the developing world into the frame, it allows rich countries to emit twice as much carbon as poor countries.
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