Its recovery from war is close to miraculous, particularly in cutting back poverty while developed nations such as the UK were increasing it.
While developed countries can absorb weather shocks, Sudan's ability to respond to droughts and floods is as poor as its people, two-thirds of whom are farmers.
While developed countries have greater agricultural output, developing countries have more farmers who would be affected by moves to cut carbon-related emissions, some experts say.
Consumer goods companies with strong positions in China, India, Brazil and other emerging markets have been stock market darlings in recent years as those economies boomed while developed economies were stricken by the financial crisis.
While developed nations are at replacement level or below, the turmoil, poverty, disease and environmental degradation now observable in so many developing countries can doubtless be traced in part to their rapid and continuing population growth.
Developing nations conceded the need for economic revival in the United States, Europe and Japan – not least because exports need buyers – while developed nations conceded it was reasonable to mitigate the resulting disruptions.
HONG KONG — While developed economies have worried whether international investors will keep showing up at their bond auctions if their central banks keep printing money, China has had a different worry.
While developed nations seem to recognize the need to tap into India's fast-growing economy, it still seems to be a tough transition for some to view India as a grown-up power to reckon with.
Minister for power, coal and renewable energy, Piyush Goyal, said India's contribution to global greenhouse gases emissions was just 2.5% with 17% of the world's population, while developed countries contributed a fifth of emissions with just 5% of the world's population.
"While developed countries continue to hesitate in providing much needed support to enhance adaptation actions, particularly vulnerable and poorer developing countries like the Philippines continue to bear the brunt of the destructive effects of climate change," says Shubert Ciencia of Oxfam in the Philippines, a senior member of the Philippine delegation to the UN climate talks.
The Kyoto treaty runs out at the end of 2012 and the developing nations, led by China and India, wanted it renewed, while developed countries, including Britain and the rest of the EU, want a completely new treaty to share out the carbon-cutting burden.
