Midaway through the 2 weeks UN conference, richer nations are offering firm reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases ranging from 3 – 4 % for the US to 20% for the EU, in terms of 2020 emissions levels compared with 1990.

The Swiss physicist’s leads the IPCC’s working Group I, the climate science group that, among other things, assesses the impact that emissions from fossil burning, deforestation and other sources have on concentration of global warming  gases in the atmosphere and then on temperatures.

The Bangladesh delegation demands allocation from any climate change adaptation fund in proportion to the percentage of its population exposed to climate change.

Hasan Mahmud, state Minister of Environment and Forest in Bangladesh, stressed that more or less one billion people are affected in the world due to climate change and at least 15% of them live in Bangladesh. When the fund offered to Bangladesh by developed partners or bilateral basis to fight climate change becomes operational, the government might let the World Bank manage the fund for a short term as per a condition set by the development partners.

According to Bloomberg, Meles Zenawi (Prime Minister of Ethiopia who represents the African Union) had received assurances from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in telephone conversation earlier this week that China won’t sign any climate change agreement  in Copenhagen unless Africa demands for compensation for the effects of global warming are met.

Meles would stop in Paris and London for talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown before heading to Copenhagen. Here he would seek assurances that the offer pledged by European countries would be what he called “real money” and not an illusion. On emission, lots of progress has been made, his primary worry is about funding, said Meles.

According to AFP, a select group of environment ministers from 48 countries meet already on Sunday to pore a draft deal.

Late Saturday, the COP15 President Connie Hedegaard describes the procedural advances in the first six days as “fantastic” compared with the situation a couple of month ago.

The Danish Prime Minister Lars Lфkke Ramussen is enthusiastic as well he said “a bright green flame of hope has been lit by citizens, activists and NGOs”.

On Saturday, tens of thousands of people joined an overwhelmingly peaceful in winter cold Copenhagen to demonstrate for action on climate change. At one stage, violence flared at the tail end of the demonstration, when masked protestors threw cobblestones through the windows of the historic stock exchange and foreign Minister building. The police rounded up 968 in a preventive action against a group of youth activists. As of Sunday morning, only a handful was still detained.

An estimated 40.000 people joined the mostly peaceful march toward the suburban conference center.

Critics blasted the Danish law that allows police to make preventative arrests if they believe a demonstration will turn violent and hold suspected troublemakers for up to 12 hours without a court arraignment.