STEPHEN COLLINSON
Amid bickering and frustration in Copenhagen, hopes for progress towards a deal appeared to be hanging in the balance
US President Barack Obama will plunge into the thick of the Copenhagen summit on Friday, arguing he has transformed US global warming policy and seeking verification guarantees in any new climate pact.

Hosts Denmark dropped plans on Thursday to propose new draft texts to try to break deadlock at a UN climate summit in Copenhagen after opposition from many developing nations.

`Climate change cannot be addressed by perpetuating the poverty of the developing countries,' Dr Manmohan Singh said in a departure statement released by his office
India cannot accept a global warming treaty that would stall its drive to lift millions out of poverty, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said as he left for the final phase of UN climate talks in Copenhagen.

Amidst frenetic activity to stitch up a face-saving deal in the final hours, the ubiquitous Danish draft made a reappearance at the climate change conference on Wednesday, inviting a fresh round of vociferous protests from the developing countries, with China describing it as an

But we are eternally hopeful, would look forward to post-summit negotiations, says Nirupama Rao.

Anticipating only a political statement at the end of the Conference of Parties (COP) meeting on climate change in Copenhagen, India on Wednesday said such an outcome would not measure up to its expectations.

Priscilla Jebaraj

COPENHAGEN: On a day of long speeches in the plenary and loud protests outside, the Danish president of the UN climate talks here told developing countries that progress on the Kyoto Protocol is unlikely here. There may not be any post-2012 commitment of emission cuts by rich nations under the Protocol coming out of Copenhagen.

Pallavi Aiyar / Copenhagen December 17, 2009, 0:40 IST

The Danish chair of the UN talks on climate change, Connie Hedegaard, today stepped down and was replaced by Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.

MICHAEL CASEY
COPENHAGEN

Most of the leaders were flying either on commercial airlines or government-owned jets and Sweden was one of the few to announce plans to offset those aviation emissions -- something it does routinely

HARDEV SANOTRA

The UN climate talks in Copenhagen ran into rough weather as India, China and the G-77 nations took strong exception to a second "Danish text" that which emerged Wednesday, saying they will not allow a "parachuted document" to decide the negoti ations on climate change.

RASHME SEHGAL

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh leaves for Copenhagen on Thursday determined to renew India's demand for an "equitable and balanced" agreement on climate change even as the meet has been split wide open with increasing acrimony between developing and developed nations.