Old divisions between developed and developing countries in who should lead the fight against climate change should be laid aside, according to ministers from some of the world's poorest countries and European representatives meeting on May 8.

The vexed issue of which countries should bear the greatest responsibility for cutting greenhouse gas emissions has been a sticking point in international negotiations for two decades. Under the original settlement reached in 1992 at the Rio Earth summit, and formalised in the 1997 Kyoto protocol, some rapidly emerging economies such as China were left out of the roster of obligations to curb emissions.

EU nations have yet to come up with a plan on how to fill a multi-billion euro fund to help tackle climate change, even as the region's executive body hosts talks with countries likely to bear the brunt of extreme weather.

The European Union recommitted to providing 7.2 billion euros ($9.4 billion) for the fund over 2010-12, according to draft conclusions seen by Reuters ahead of a meeting of EU finance ministers next week.

Australia and New Zealand have missed a deadline to set post-2012 emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol, with both governments saying they will decide whether to continue to be legally bound to cut emissions of seven greenhouse gases later this year.

Countries intending to sign up to a second round of targets under the 1997 treaty were scheduled to notify the U.N. by Tuesday.

But Australia and New Zealand, both of which plan to launch emissions trading schemes and have been tipped to take on fresh legal targets from 2013, failed to meet that deadline.

Global demand for carbon credits, especially in Europe for economic reasons, has been declining since 2010

With the prices sliding of Certified Emission Reduction (CER) certificates traded on the international exchange, Indian companies holding the credits are bracing for tough times. Brokers trading in CERs have started to downsize their carbon desk and the ones holding these are looking for buyers. “The demand for CERs is low, which saw the prices slide. Aggregators of credits and the intermediaries, have started feeling the heat.

Peru became the latest developing country to enact a domestic climate change initiative in the absence of a binding global pact, adopting a resolution on Thursday to lower carbon emissions in its fast-growing economy.

As one of the world's most geographically diverse places, Peru said it is already feeling the effects of a changing climate, such as melting tropical glaciers in the Andes and high levels of solar radiation.

A European Union law that charges airlines for carbon emissions is "a deal-breaker" for global climate change talks, India's environment minister said, hardening her stance on a scheme that has drawn fierce opposition from non-EU governments.

From January 1, all airlines using EU airports have come under the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), prompting a volley of retaliatory threats, including of a possible trade war.

The Minister for Environment and Forests, Ms Jayanthi Natarajan, on Wednesday termed the European Union’s emission tax on airlines as a “unilateral" decision.

She said in the backdrop of global efforts to tackle climate change challenges, the EU’s tax on international airlines was a “deal breaker”. The Minister was speaking at a TERI event here on Wednesday.