As countries work to create a treaty to take over when the Kyoto Protocol's compliance period ends in 2012, the balance of power between rich and poor countries is changing.
The jury is still out on whether or not the battle to develop a successor to the Kyoto Protocol by the end this year will create an effective tool to significantly reduce world greenhouse gas emissions. But there is little doubt that the process will have the unintended consequence of dramatically changing the relationship between rich and poor countries.