With just one day to go, the UN climate change summit was in deep trouble last night with the European Union and the United States still at loggerheads over the inclusion of loopholes in a treaty to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The US wants the Kyoto protocol to be as "flexible" as possible, while the EU is seeking to ensure that all the major industrialised countries share roughly equal burdens in cutting the emissions blamed for causing climate change.
Canada directly accused the EU of "intransigence" over its continuing opposition to certain forms of emissions trading, to the use of forests as "sinks" for carbon dioxide - the main greenhouse gas - and to other potential loopholes.
The chief US negotiator, Mr Stuart Eizenstat, also implicitly criticised the EU when he said last night there was a need for "others" to show flexibility. The criticisms surfaced after an intensive series of tripartite talks involving the key players - the EU, Japan and the US. These reportedly bruising encounters were still going on late last night, with no sign of a breakthrough.
Canada's environment minister, Ms Christine Stewart, said it was "somewhat frustrating" to be reduced to waiting on the sidelines for the EU, the US and Japan to agree on a common position. Everyone else has also been cut out of the loop.
In an attempt to reach a more general consensus, Mr Raul Estrada, the Argentinian ambassador who chairs the conference, last night produced a long-awaited draft treaty which he believed would help to break the deadlock.
Under the draft, the EU would cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 8 per cent and the US and Japan by 5 per cent each. But Mr John Prescott, Britain's Deputy Prime Minister, said it would be difficult to "sell" this differential in Europe.
Mr Eizenstat said the negotiations were at a "very intensive" stage and, despite some progress, "we still have far to go." But the US was "hopeful that we will be able to bridge the gaps" even though there was such a short time remaining.
Following the intervention of the US Vice-President, Mr Al Gore, he said his country was now offering "real reductions" in its gas emissions. But he made it clear that this was "contingent on a comprehensive package". It would have to include "meaningful participation" by key developing countries, such as China and India, as well as "market mechanisms" which would allow countries to offset their emissions by purchasing credits from others.
Borrowing the "EU bubble" example, he said the US now favoured creating its own emissions-trading "umbrella" with other countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Russia and anyone else who would like to join.
The fact that this US-inspired umbrella would include Russia provoked an immediate outcry from environmental groups because it raised the prospect that the US would evade cutting its own emissions by buying "hot air" from Moscow.
Due to economic collapse, Russia's carbon dioxide emissions have plummeted, with the result that it has now "saved" a total of 3.7 billion tonnes. Under the umbrella deal, all of this "hot air" could be bought by the US.
The fiercest critic was Mr John Gummer MP, Britain's former Conservative environment secretary. He said it was "dishonest" for the US to propose an umbrella which would "shelter" the gases causing global climate change.
"The biggest polluter came to this conference with wholly inadequate targets and now it's offering something that is actually dishonest," he declared. "I don't think the Americans have taken account of the anger of the rest of the world."
