Embodying all of the flaws of the United Nations itself, the climate process gave every country a voice, exempted developing countries from responsibility, and by setting up mechanisms such as emission trading and the clean development mechanism, quickly became a game where smaller, developing countries would band together to demand wealth transfers from developed countries.
But smaller, developing countries don't have the same resources.
He has the support only of smaller developing countries, like Kenya.
On the eve of the meeting, Japan pledged $2 billion to a World Bank program to recapitalize banks in smaller developing countries.
"But this mechanism — suspending intellectual property protection — gives smaller, developing countries a way to enforce their rights under trade rules".
"It's by far the best exotic credit," Mr. Adams said, using a term for debt issued by smaller developing countries that is traded infrequently on world markets.
"The smaller developing countries are just never going to get the kind of deal they can get from multilateral negotiations," says Dhingra.
Moreover, India's unorthodox path illustrates, on a grand scale, the struggles of many smaller developing countries to deliver growth despite weak, ineffective governments.
Although Monckton is not ethnically Burmese, many small developing countries have advisers from other countries, so his appearance in the hall dressed in a business suit would not have raised suspicions.
The talks organized by the Bush administration were criticized by some small developing countries, European officials and environmental groups as an effort to circumvent global climate negotiations led by the United Nations, although President George W. Bush said at the time that the meetings were intended to support the global talks.
