The Earth Summit opened in Johannesburg today, giving world governments just 10 days to agree on ways to haul millions out of poverty without poisoning the planet.
In a convention centre ringed by police and soldiers, host president Mr Thabo Mbeki of South Africa said it was time to scrap a world order based on the "savage principle of the survival of the fittest".
Mr Mbeki, who called yesterday for an end to "global apartheid" between rich and poor, was elected president of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) by delegates from nearly 200 nations.
"A global human society based on poverty for many and prosperity for a few, characterised by islands of wealth, surrounded by a sea of poverty, is unsustainable," Mr Mbeki told the UN conference's opening plenary session.
But officials made scant progress over the weekend in bridging a wide gulf between hesitant rich states and poor nations demanding more aid and fairer trade.
"This meeting will contribute to the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer," said Mr Trevor Ngwane, who campaigns against privatising water supplies in Johannesburg's Soweto township. "This is not our summit," he told South African television.
Some of those protesting at the summit have confronted police, who have warned they will not tolerate the kind of mayhem seen at summits in Seattle, Genoa and elsewhere.
More than 100 world leaders - with the notable exception of US President Mr George W. Bush - are due in Johannesburg for a day or two next week. The Taoiseach and the North's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, are due to attend.