The climate talks faltered for several hours on Monday afternoon as African countries suspicious that they were being left out of the real deal making walked out.

African states and other developing world want binding targets for industrialised states, along the same model as the current Kyoto agreement.

They feel that they are being sidelined by rich countries talking of a ‘political settlement’ – what boils down to a gentleman’s agreement rather than a legally binding one.

While everyone is now back at the table, frantic informal talks took place around the clock to make up for lost time and to try to break the current deadlock.

Heads of state from around the world have begun to arrive in Copenhagen today, ahead of the hoped-for signing of an agreement at the conclusion of the talks on Friday.

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