Oxfam

Reporting from Copenhagen

Copenhagen's mall-sized Bella Center, the command center for the largest climate change gathering ever convened, has exceeded its capacity, and thousands of registered civil society groups are now being asked to leave.

The move is raising the ire of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), who say they are being cut out of the process for global warming action that they, in part, built.

Their absence in the crucial final days of the conference will be a blow to poor nations who rely on NGO assistance to get their voices heard, the NGOs say, and it will keep out non-governmental experts who could quickly analyze any proposed deals, leaving the world hearing only the claims of politicians.

After a disappointing UN climate summit speech that expounded on the dangers of global warming but offered no new U.S. commitments to stop it, President Obama has one more chance this week to take charge as a climate leader as the international action moves to Pittsburgh for a two-day G20 meeting.

When Obama organized the Pittsburgh gathering of the world's wealthiest nations, he tasked the G20 finance ministers with developing a plan for rich countries to help developing nations deploy clean energy and adapt to climate change.

The divide between developed and developing nations over that funding has become one of the largest barriers to a new climate agreement at Copenhagen in December.

It also appears to be increasingly pushed down the G20 agenda, behind the global economic recovery and even bankers' bonuses. Rather than financing, President Obama has focused his G20 statements on a new proposal to phase out fossil fuel subsidies instead.

"It's time for heads of state to step up as world leaders and start putting adequate figures on the tables," said Barbara Stocking, CEO of Oxfam Great Britain, whose group is calling for a commitment of $150 billion a year for developing nations.

"We do not have the luxury of time with climate change. Too long have these negotiations been treated like trade talks, with countries watching out for their own individual interests."