The final day at the Bella Centre and the pressure from around the world to seal a deal is reaching a crescendo.

A draft political agreement drawn up by a small group of countries was rejected during overnight discussions and the EU did not raise its offer on cutting emissions from 20% to 30%, as some observers had anticipated.

Today, the US President Barack Obama arrived to issue a rallying call, telling world leaders that time is running out to strike a deal. 

He told the audience: “While the science of climate change is not in doubt, I think our ability to take collective action is in doubt right now, and it hangs in the balance.”

He said he had come to Copenhagen “not to talk, but to act”. Unchecked, he said, climate change would pose “unacceptable risks” to international security, the world economy and the planet.

After their speeches, President Obama and the Chinese Premier met for nearly an hour. But that doesn’t seem to have stopped the blame game in its tracks. The US is being blamed for coming too late to the table with an improved funding offer, while China is accused of blocking a deal.

And with only six and a half hours to go.

While the talking was going on, the tension within the centre was palpable. Bridging the gap between developed and developing countries appeared to be impossible.
According to the Danish daily Berlingske Tidende, the Presidency on Wednesday night abandoned attempts to create consensus on a text that should have formed the basis of a global political agreement to combat climate change.

Today 119 heads of state and government are meeting for the final, crucial negotiations.   The Danish Presidency had hoped to present the world leaders with a text containing as tight an agreement on issues such as emission cuts, financing of climate aid to developing countries, accounting for emissions etc as possible.

According to Berlingske Tidende, the developing countries represented by the Group of 77 blocked the initiative.

Now, the strategy is to try to make progress in some isolated areas, preparing the ground for the next UN climate negotiations which will take place in Mexico next year, the newspaper reports.

President Obama flies in to Copenhagen tomorrow but has already made it clear his role won’t be to broker a deal.

Anger, frustration and despair are being vented both inside and outside the negotiations but we can’t afford at any point to give up hope.

The banners are still flying on buildings lining the road to the airport.

“Let’s make it Hopenhagen,” they declare.

Let’s hope time isn’t running out.

At the DG-Byen Centre, where the Climate Group held their hugely successful day of events, NGOs mingled with ministers monitoring progress within the Bella Centre by mobile phone and internet.

I was inside the main auditorium listening to leaders delivering their key note speeches when protestors burst into the reception area of the centre. Such demonstrations are common across Copenhagen as the clock continues to tick down to the final few deal-breaking days.

After a full programme, across the city to the Climate Group’s gala reception where the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, gave a rousing speech. Security was tight and the venue went into lockdown just before the Governor entered. He told the audience that it was for the States and Regions of the world to take the lead on climate change, as history has shown that it is not the major powerbrokers who influence change, but instead those who are closest to the ground. And he ended by telling the full to overflowing room, “I’ll be back!”

I was fortunate to present the Governor with a bottle of the 42 per cent whisky which has been especially bottles by Stop Climate Chaos in to highlight the 42 per cent emissions reduction target set by Scotland.

It was a thought-provoking and emotional 30 minutes in the Climate Group’s main venue, with Denmark, Israel and Australia all committing to having half their cars running on electricity by 2017 and the President of the Maldives making an impassioned plea for the rest of the world to appreciate his nation’s plight. The islands are fast disappearing under rising sea levels and the prospect is of a culture completely displaced. What would be the consequences for the people and their traditional way of life? “What will happen to our songs?” he asked the enthralled auditorium.

A hugely successful event, which has certainly left a flavour of Scotland around proceedings. Richard Dixon of WWF and Stop Climate Chaos has been particularly popular handing out bottles of SCC’s special 42 per cent proof whisky, created specially for Cop15.

Another tough day in the main talks after dramatic happenings yesterday when the African nations staged a walk out. Negotiations resumed with people getting back round the table overnight

Heads of state start to appear today and the First Minister himself will be taking part in a number of events, including the signing of a communique with the Maldives, a nation at extreme risk of the effects of climate change.

We are entering the crunch time now as we head to the summit’s climax. Correspondents say suspicions among poor countries are that rich ones are ganging up on them.

We must ease these fears and look to Friday.

Today I am busy meeting other heads of States and Nations at The Climate Group venue near the Tivoli Gardens. The Climate Group are big hitters in these discussions and their impressive list of speakers is testament to that.

Christmas lights may be twinkling around us but the midnight oil will continue to burn, I am sure.

Onwards to the Mogens Dahl Koncertsal, the venue for our Low Carbon Mission, where the British Council are already in session with their Carbon masters, experts on working within a low carbon economy. These young people are the future, working without waiting for the starting gun which so many others appear to be waiting to fire. They are thinking about the big questions which many seem scared to ask; working out how the world will look in the very near future. I am very much looking forward to having discussions with them and listening to their dissemination of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act which they will be holding during our sessions here later today.

(I must say this venue is truly wonderful and perfect for our purposes, particularly when latest reports are that the queue to get in to the Bella Centre is three hours long!)

I attended the premiere of Bend the Trend, a film being shown by the European Environment Agency as a side event to the summit. Very interesting although it definitely shows we are further down the road of climate change than perhaps we ever thought.

Tomorrow is our Scotland Day event when I will be highlighting exactly what Scotland is doing to an international audience. That’s after a an appearance on GMS at 8am when Radio Scotland will be presenting live from Copenhagen. A busy day.

And this morning, the First Minister unveiled plans to work with one of the countries most vulnerable to rising sea levels to tackle the impact of global warming.

The First Minister will also be in Copenhagen next week to sign a joint-statement with The Maldives President, Mohamed Nasheed, where he will further highlight Scotland’s world-leading climate change targets and press for a similarly ambitious global agreement.

We may be a small nation but our strength, as ever, lies in our willingness to build alliances and exchange knowledge. This  is – and should be  – the key to taking forward the low carbon agenda.

I am looking forward to having these discussions during the bi-lateral meetings which I have planned for next week. A substantial part of my time in Copenhagen will be spent sitting down with ministers from other states and regions to discuss what we can share and how we can learn from one another.

The world’s poor claim that the draft agreement would allow people in developed countries to emit twice as much carbon per head than those in poorer countries, who have not caused the rise in emissions.

Be in no doubt, the Third World has raised its voice.

Here in Scotland, the First Minister Alex Salmond has unveiled a new group comprised of key figures from the public, private and third sectors to spearhead the delivery of our world-leading climate change targets.

In the fitting setting of the Falkirk Wheel – testament to Scotland’s amazing engineering capabilities – the 2020 Group, convened by Scottish and Southern Energy chief executive Ian Marchant, will ensure that all sectors of Scotland’s economy and civic society will work together to contribute to achieving our 42 per cent reduction in emissions by 2020.

It’s all about collaboration, you see. Sharing ideas, working together, exchanging experiences.

That’s the message I will be taking to the summit next week.