Beijing's bankroll for Bong's ore

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Rather than quietly complaining, Africa is using its Asian alliances to shake up the Copenhagen climate summit. A so-called BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) draft, promising developing world emissions cuts, was offered but has not gained traction. Africa's insistence that the summit should result in the transferring of resources from the developed world to the developing world has stalled proceedings. This stance is supported by environmentalists and aid agencies which are critical of what they perceive as the developed world's attempts to bypass the penalties of the Kyoto agreement. African demands have been clear: carbon emissions must be reduced globally and, crucially, financial support offered by wealthy countries. Ethiopian Premier Meles Zenawi, chief negotiator for the African Union's 52 states, did not name a figure in these talks but has previously called for as much as US$67 billion per year. The AU's Copenhagen mission regards Africa as the 'primary victim of global warming' and as such should be compensated accordingly, taking into account past losses and the lack of future gains. Meles has been assured of China's support by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and said that similar support can be expected from India.