As environment ministers haggled behind closed doors, some of the biggest players gave a glimpse of the size of the divide that needs to be bridged between rich and poor nations when some 120 leaders gather for the summit climax on Friday.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, whose country is the industrialised world's biggest per capita polluter, brandished the spectre of failure unless there was more compromise all round.

"There's a big risk that we will have conflicting views between developed and developing countries," Rudd said. "And there is always a risk of failure here."

Rudd, who will be a deal-brokering "friend of the chair", said it would be difficult to reach a "consensus up the middle" given the often opposed and entrenched positions of developed and developing nations.

"We've got a lot of work ahead of us," he told Sky News.

Asked if there had been any movement on the major issues, one of the two co-chairs of the talks Michael Cutajar told AFP: "No."

A top Western negotiator, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a round table session between around 50 environment ministers Sunday had been soured by "growing tensions between the Americans and Chinese", saying delegates had merely repeated their previous stances rather than giving ground.

"At the back of everyone's mind is the fear of a repeat of the awful scenario in The Hague", she told AFP, referring to a climate summit in 2000 which broke up without agreement.

In an apparent concession, China said it might not take a share of any funding for emerging nations to fight climate change.

"Financial resources for the efforts of developing countries (to combat climate change are) a legal obligation," vice foreign minister He Yafei told the Financial Times.

"That does not mean China will take a share -- probably not... We do not expect money will flow from the US, UK (and others) to China."

The world's biggest polluter has said developed nations should take the lead in committing to substantial emission reduction targets, and provide financial assistance to poorer, developing countries battling climate change.

He insisted that China would "not be an obstacle" to a deal.

But in a pointer to the tensions backstage, He said that China would not be the fall guy if the talks flop.

"I know people will say if there is no deal that China is to blame. This is a trick played by the developed countries. They have to look at their own position and can't use China as an excuse."

Campaigners said it was time for leaders "to get a grip".

"The negotiations are stuck -- rich countries won't budge on climate cash or emissions targets and the big players don't want to talk about the kind of deal that will come out at the end of the week," said Jeremy Hobbs, head of Oxfam.

"All countries will need to give a little if we are going to get a deal in time... We have a golden opportunity to avert climate disaster. It must not be wasted."

Kumi Naidoo, executive director of the environmental pressure group Greenpeace, said leaders would pay a high price at the ballot box if they left Copenhagen empty-handed.

"We have now made inaction an electoral liability in many countries," he told AFP.

"It is a unique moment in history where the crisis also presents an opportunity. Either we will get it right or we will get it wrong."

The gathering's daunting goal is to tame greenhouse gases -- the invisible by-product derived mainly from the burning of coal, oil and gas that traps the Sun's heat and warms the atmosphere.

Scientists say that without dramatic action within the next decade, Earth will be on course for warming that will inflict drought, flood, storms and rising sea levels, translating into hunger and misery for many millions.

If all goes well, the conference will agree an outline deal of national pledges to curb carbon emissions and set up a mechanism to provide billions of dollars in help for poor countries in the firing line of climate change.

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