It's been an eventful several minutes here at the Bella Center (the climate negotiations venue in Copenhagen), with different interests trying to get out in front with their reactions to the "Danish text," the supposed secret agreement between powerful nations that apparently overturns the Kyoto climate agreement.

First a group of African nation delegates came marching into the main space, chanting "We will not die quietly!" and "One degree is enough, two degrees is suicide!"

Then Kim Carstensen, the head of WWF Global Climate Initiative, commandeered a corner for an impromptu press conference, saying that the leaked text -- supposedly evidence of a secret deal being worked out between developed nations that favors their interests over those of poorer nations -- fails the developing world.

"The behind the scenes negotiations tactics ... have been focusing on pleasing the rich and powerful countries rather than serving the majority of states who are demanding a fair and ambitious solution" to climate change, Carstensen has said in a statement. "We understand and share the frustration of the poor and vulnerable countries."

John Vidal of the UK's Guardian newspaper broke the story:

The so-called Danish text, a secret draft agreement worked on by a group of individuals known as "the circle of commitment" - but understood to include the UK, US and Denmark - has only been shown to a handful of countries since it was finalised this week.

The agreement... is a departure from the Kyoto protocol's principle that rich nations, which have emitted the bulk of the CO2, should take on firm and binding commitments to reduce greenhouse gases, while poorer nations were not compelled to act. The draft hands effective control of climate change finance to the World Bank; would abandon the Kyoto protocol - the only legally binding treaty that the world has on emissions reductions; and would make any money to help poor countries adapt to climate change dependent on them taking a range of actions.

The document was described last night by one senior diplomat as "a very dangerous document for developing countries..."

A leak of a shocking "secret agreement," along with such emphatic statements so early in the two-week talks could simply be jockeying for position, before the big dogs show up next week.

There's even been a rumor in the press centre that this text is a fake.

Whether real or no, the hot reaction to the Danish text speaks to the anxiety that's been building since President Obama took office. It's been clear for some months now that the US and China were angling for a mutual understanding on climate action that fell outside the confines of the established international process for negotiations.

The Danish text has also brought some of the fears of the least-developed nations into high relief, as demonstrated by today's flash-march of African delgates at the Bella Center. This group of countries, known as the Group of 77 (G77), wants the industrial world to commit to sharp, accelerated carbon emissions cuts that will keep the mean global temperature from rising more than 1 deg. Celsius by 2100.

Higher than this would be catastrophic for many of the poorest nations, they say: Small island nations would be wiped out by rising seas, while many countries in Africa would face an on-the-ground temperature increase of as much as 3.5 deg. Celsius.

"We do call upon world leaders and ordinary people to put the utmost pressure on politicians to get to their senses," said Ambassador Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping of the G77 at a press conference. "It's not acceptable that this opportunity will be wasted because ... a few leaders ... want to protect their economic interests."